New York, A New World
by Fist-it-Out
Summary: Rosalina had her life going great. Except for the fact that she was 'underweight'. But she didn't care much because she didn't believe it. She was happy with her life, great friends, great grades, great cozy neighborhood. At least until it all came crashing down. The death of her only know parent results in her having to leave her great life behind and start a whole new one.
1. Chapter 1

New York, New World

Rosalina had her life going great. Except for the fact that she was 'underweight'. But she didn't care much because she didn't believe it. She was happy with her life, great friends, great grades, great cozy neighborhood. At least until it all came crashing down. The death of her only know parent results in her having to leave her great life behind and start a whole new one in a big city—New York City. Luckily, a group of friends helps her find her place in the world.

 **A/N: So in this lovely story, their all the same age except for Alex. So they're all twelve, and Alex is nine. And now band. Here's the first chapter, enjoy!**

* * *

Rosalina's POV

I hate going to the doctor. It's the only thing in this world I hate doing. She's always pestering me about eating more and gaining more weight. "Your twelve years old and five foot two but you weigh as much as a six year old!" she tells me. So what? Maybe I like being skinny. I enjoy weighing 74.8 lbs. It's not like I don't eat. I just give most of my food to the street dog outside my window.

Like twenty minutes after my appointment, my mom was lecturing me about being underweight. And she wasn't paying attention. And it was all my fault that we crashed. It was awful! I was find, just traumatized. My mom died because she wasn't focused on the road. She was focused on me. Two days later, I watched a bunch of men come in, packing away things. I backed up my room, letting them take it I was moving to New York City. That's where my Dad lives. I hadn't seen him since I was two, when they got a divorce.

"I can't believe you're moving, Rose," Gina, my best friend, said.

"And at the peak of summer," Stacy, my other best friend, said.

"I'm going to miss you guys so much," I said, hugging them. "And I'm only an hour or two away. I'll come visit as much as I can."

"And how will you do that?" Stacy asked. "You're twelve. You can't drive."

"I can take a bus," I said.

"We'll see about that," Gina said. "Kris, you're so lucky. You live in New York."

"Yea," Kristina, my other friend said. "But I'm in Waterbury for vacation with my Moms. I can't just ditch her and go back to the Apple. That's rude."

"At least I'll have you when you get back for school," I said.

"I doubt it," Kristina said. "Your dad lives in Manhattan. I live in the Bronx. They're really far apart."

"My life sucks right now," I whined.

"It'll get better, kay?" Gina said. "Call us everyday."

"Not like I had anything better to do," I said. "I'm really gonna miss you."

"Bye hon, have a good summer," Stacy said, hugging me.

As the car drove off, I watch my entire life fade off. I was leaving it all behind.


	2. The Football

**Chapter 2: The Football**

Nat's POV

"Summer!" I exclaimed, jumping off my to bunk and spooking my little brother. "Alex, get up, it's summer break."

"What's different?" Alex said groggily. "You're still gonna wake me up, we're gonna see the guys,and you're gonna stuff me silly with your fatty foods."

"They aren't fatty, they taste good," I argued.

"They're so good but always make me fat," Alex whined.

"You're super skinny Alex," I said. "In fact, I'm gonna make you extra today."

"That won't be necessary," Alex said, sitting up.

I laughed lightly. "Come on. The guys will be here any minute for breakfast and I haven't even started."

.

"Dude, how do you do it?" David, one of my friends, asked with his mouth full.

"Finding up so we can go play ball," I said, laughing at him.

"We can't," Qaasim said. "They're remodeling the court for the next three weeks. Can't step foot there."

"Then let's play in the park," Alex said.

"I hate going to the park," Thomas said. "Every time I go with you, Nat, all these girls are always flirting with you."

"Not my fault I'm so freakin attractive," I said, shrugging. "I'll go get the football. Meet me downstairs. And clean your plates."

 **Rosalina's POV**

My Dad was so boring. All he does is work, and I've been here for three hours. Finally, he says I can go to the park and make new friends. Very unlikely, but I still went. First, I had to change. Sometimes I swear I dress like a boy when I go to the park, but I can't help it. I put on a Yankees jersey and my gym shorts, then tied my hair up in a ponytail with a Yankees baseball cap on. I had on my mid calf socks and black and white Nike low tops. I smiled at myself in the mirror; if it weren't for my very tiny, very unnoticeable boobs I swear I was a boy.

I followed the map I had memorized in my head to the nearest park, walking in with not so much confidence. I took a quick look around, see a group of girls talking by the jungle gym, and group of boys playing football, little kids on the swing, and a bum sitting on the park bench. I sighed, walking in further.

"Hey, watch out!" One of the boys yelled at the top of their lungs. I felt a gust of wind before falling on the ground with a scream. I was face down in the grass with a large mass on top of me. I felt the mass lift off of me, and I rolled over. Just where I was standing as a deep indentation with a football stuck inside. Straddling over me was what I think the cutest boy in the world. He had big brown eyes and brown silky hair that fell around his shoulders perfectly, and a sweet smile on his face.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I-I'm fine," I stuttered out, still in a little shock.

"Are you okay?" he asked, standing up. He pulled me off the ground.

"Yea," I said.

"You be careful now bro," he said, started to walk away. "And I won't throw so hard again!"

I smiled, and I looked at him again. He pulled the football out of the ground, then ran back over to his friends. He was fast. And he threw the ball and pushed me out of the way before it hit me. That's fast.

Wait, does he think I'm a boy?

Dang it, he probably does. Why is it that when I meet a super hunk he thinks I'm a boy. Like twenty minutes later, I was walking around again and so bored. I was planning on just leaving. "Bro, look out!" I heard. Naturally, I'm a girl, so I didn't mind it. At least until a football hit me in the head and knocked me out.


	3. The Cocky Chef

Chapter 3: The Cocky Chef

Rosalina's POV

When I opened my eyes, my head hurt extremely bad. There were voices all around me, but one person I recognized. The cute boy. He smiled warmly at me, touching my forehead gently. "How are you feeling?" he asked quietly. I groaned, and he nodded. "I'm so sorry that I did that. I'm such an idiot. You could've been seriously hurt." His eyes were filled with hurt.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Rosalina," I said quietly. My head hurt really bad. I looked at the boy, seeing he had my Yankees hat on his head.

"I'm Nat," he said. "I kinda threw the football and knocked you out. Are you feeling any better?"

"Yea I think so," I said, sitting up. He pushed me back down, shaking his head.

"Lay down," Nat said. "I feel awful as it is. This is the second time in one day I almost hurt you permanently."

"It's okay, I'm a big girl," I said, sitting up.

"Your like, ten," he scoffed.

"For your information, I'm twelve," I said, crossing my arms.

"You're too skinny for twelve," he said. "How about I make you some food to make up for nearly killing you? I'm an excellent chef."

"I don't even know you," I said.

"Don't worry," he said. "I honestly don't bite people. Except for my brother, cause he's an ass."

I couldn't help but giggle, standing up. "Fine," I said. "But I want my hat back."

"Sure thing, Miss Yankees," he said, nodding toward my shirt. And then I noticed he was shirtless. And he was a shirtless God. He had a beautiful six pack and absolutely no hair on his chest. He picked up his shirt off the ground, putting it on my forehead. "It's cold so your head can feel better." He explained. "Let me just go get my friends."

He jogged off, leaving me there. He came back over with his group of friends. "Rosalina, this is David, Thomas, Qaasim, and the ass in the flesh, Alex." Nat introduced.

"Sup," they said in unison. David had short blonde hair. Thomas had long brown hair, longer then Nat's. Qaasim had some fresh looking dreads. Alex had curly brown hair with a doerag.

"Hey," I said.

"We're gonna head home so I can fatten her up," Nat said to his friends.

"Excuse me?" I asked, looking at him.

"I like to fatten people up," Nat said, turning to me. "It's my passion."

"I like being skinny," I said.

"But you'd be even cuter then you already are if you had a little meat on you," he whispered in my ear as they started walking. I smiled shyly seeing him walk in front of me. He took my hand and put it on my forehead. "Keep it there or else," he said.

"Can I get my hat?" I asked him.

"Nada," he said, turning around.

.

His friends were all goofing and playing around while he was in the kitchen. He forced me to lay down on the couch with an actually ice pack on my head. His apartment smelt like food. Like, good food. An hour later, he came over to me. He was absolutely naked, well he was in boxers. He smiled at me, playing my hair. "Lunch is ready, Miss Rosalina." he said with a smile. He took the ice pack off of my forehead, then pulled me off of the couch.

"Do you plan on putting on clothes?" I asked, laughing.

"I prefer eating naked," he said. "Helps me stuff myself to the max." He turned down to an open room. "Idiots! Lunch!"

Nat grabbed me, pulling closer to him as he stepped out of the way. He was extremely close to me, our bodies touching everywhere but the face. He smiled at me, then whispered, "Wanted to save you from getting trampled." He's, like, a teenager! This is weird.

"How old are you?" I whispered.

"Same as you," he whispered, letting me go. He smiled evilly, walking back to the kitchen. I followed him, sitting where he told me too. He put out subs for each of us, then some orange juice. "I don't stuff you with carbonated sugars," he said.

"What's this?" Alex asked.

"It's a sub," Nat said. "But so I could fatten up Rosalina, I put little bits of meat in the bread along with cheese, then bacon, meatballs, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and secret sauce on the inside."

"Looks fatty," I said, looking at it.

"What do you not understand about me saying I'm gonna fatten you up?" Nat asked seriously. "Either you're a real idiot or I can really throw a football."

"I'm honestly not hungry." I said, then my stomach rumbled. Nat raised his eye brow at me.

"Eat it by yourself or I'm gonna force it down your throat," he threatened.

"He's very serious," Alex said. "He has tools."

I looked at him really scared, taking a bite out of the sandwich. He grabbed my hand, putting it down. "No one eats until we pray." He said like I knew this.

"You're getting on my nerves," I point out.

"Hush up and bow your head," he said. I folded my hands, bending my head down slightly.

"Bless us our lord and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our lord amen." Nat said.

"Amen," they said, I was a little delayed. Nat smiled up at me.

"Now you can eat," he said. That's what I hate, when people watch me eat. It makes me more self conscious. I stopped in mid bit, looking at him.

"Please don't watch me eat," I begged. "Not to hurt your feelings or anything, I just don't like people watching me eat. Especially when I don't know you."

"And I don't like pretty girls seeing me in my boxers but I guess we're all doing new things today," he said, laughing lightly. "Don't worry, I just want to know if you like it. Which you probably will."

"You're a cocky chef," I said.

"Guilty as charged," he said, smiling. He walked over to me, holding onto my hands. "I told you straight up I was going to force you to try it." He moved my hands so the sandwich was in my mouth. "Bite it." he commanded. I took a average bite, putting sandwich back on my plate. He turned my chair around, looking me intently. "I will stick my hand in your mouth and force you to chew." He threatened.

I had to admit, this food was awesome! But it was so fulling after one bite. I am not lying to you he hand my hands behind my back and made sure I at the whole sandwich. "Now wash it down with some orange juice," he said, handing me my glass.

I smiled, thanking him. I downed it quickly, sitting back on the stool. He helped me back to the couch, sitting with his arm wrapped around me protectively. "Are you fattened up now?" he asked.

"I think I've eaten enough for today," I said.

"And then you'll take some dinner home to your Mom and Dad." he said, pushing me down so we were laying down.

"Nope," I said. "My Mom just died."

"That's awful," he said suddenly. "My Mom's dead too, but you just lost her. It must feel awful. I'm so sorry Rosalina."

"Not to totally bum you out, but when did your mom die?" I asked.

"When Alex was one and I was four." he said. "So I've never seen you around before."

"My dad lives in the city. That's why I came earlier today." I explained.

"You came earlier today?" Nat asked, sitting up. "Well cooking dinner can wait. Let's go help you unpack."

"That's not needed," I said quickly, but he was already putting on clothes.

"Too bad, so sad." Nat said. "Me and my boys don't let people we injure have to work the whole injured day. That's what we do." He ran down the hall, going to his friends.


	4. Rosalina's House

Chapter 4: Rosalina's House

Nat's POV

Today was going so weird! I met a really pretty girl whom I think I have a crush on, knocked her, brought her back to my house and forced her to eat, and was now going to her house to unpack. I only forced her to eat because she really is too skinny. She looked like she was suffering from malnutrition, and I don't play with that stuff. But other then I that, everything about her was cool. I felt like Alex, though. Cause at first I could've sworn she was a boy. I'm such a doof! But she seems really shy and nice. I also messed up her ponytail, which was looking fresh before I hit her. And now, because of me, she had a red mark on her forehead of where the football hit her. Good thing we didn't need to go to the hospital.

I grabbed up a fresh shirt, then ran into the fuzzy room. They all stopped hitting each other with lightsavors, looking at me. "What up?" Qaasim asked.

"You guys wanna come with me to Rosalina's house?" I asked them, putting the shirt over my head.

"Why do we need to do that?" Alex asked.

"She just moved here today," I explained. "So I was thinking we could and help her unpack."

"You like her, don't you?" David said with a smirk.

"I don't not!" I exclaimed. "I hit her with a football and knocked her unconscious and now I feel really bad. So now I want to help her."

"Sure dude," Thomas said.

"Can we bring our swords?" Alex asked.

"Toss me a green one," I said.

.

As we walked to Rosalina's house and she led the way, she was playing and talking with me and Alex. Mainly Alex. He's always stealing the ladies. "So how old are you?" Rosalina asked.

"Nine," Alex said.

"How on earth do you put up with them?" Rosalina asked.

"How could you tell their so annoying? It's only been like two hours," Alex said.

"Intuition," Rosalina said. "And Nat's so rude to you. He calls you an ass."

"But then, at the end of the day, he lets me punch his gut twice for every mean thing he's called me during the day," Alex said. "It's fun. I mean, he only flinches or groans in pain sometimes or if I miss and hit his nuts."

"And how often do you miss?" Rosalina asked.

"A lot," Alex said with an evil smile. "Hey Nat, can I get an early punch right now?"

"No because your going to purposely miss," I said. "And it's not funny."

Rosalina groaned, holding her stomach. "You tried to kill me," she accused me. "You've over stuffed me."

"He does that to everybody," David said.

"Luckily, we escape before dinner," Thomas said.

"I eat like that all the time," I said. "And I think I'm in pretty good shape."

"I'm gonna weigh so much if I keep eating at your place." She said.

"You weigh like 90 pounds," David said.

"74.8," she corrected.

We all stopped, staring at her. She looked back at us, clearly confused. "I'm nine and I weigh more then that," Alex said.

"Well you're a boy so it's different." she said.

"Yep, I'm definitely gonna be feeding you until you're in the hundreds," I said.

"I think I'll just go back to Connecticut then," she joked. After everyone looked a little hurt, she added, "I'm kidding. You guys are chill, plus I have no one to stay with."

"For someone who just lost their mother you sure don't mind bringing it up," I said, continuing walking.

"It was my fault," she said quietly, looking sad.

"You look to sad to have killed your mother, therefore I don't believe you." I said.

"She was in a car crash because she was more focused on me then the road," she said.

"Okay seriously Rosalina, you're getting on my nerves." I said frankly. "This was like, a few weeks ago when you got hit by a car. You're pretty much starving yourself and you just passed out in the park. And you're really hurting my feelings by refusing to let me cook you something to eat."

"Only because you've been so nice to me," she said. "You can make dinner."

"By the end of this summer, you'll have some meat on your bones." I said quietly.

"I don't like eating!" She argued. "And who are you to tell me what to do? I don't even know you."

"It's not like you know anyone in this city," I said. "And we're not bad people."

"I think this was destiny," David said. "Us meeting you."

"Yea," Thomas agreed. "Think about it. The day that the court is closed and we are in the park just so happens to be the day that what's her face moves to the New York and decides to go to that exact park."

"Her name is Rosalina," I said.

"Yea," Thomas said. "You can't think that's true?"

"Okay, you guys are creeping me out," Rosalina said, backing up. "I'm gonna jet. Later dudes."

"Rosalina wait!" I called, grabbing her wrist before she ran off. I pulled her out of the road just as a car came speeding by. "On the rare occasion that the roads are clear cars will be speeding."

"Thank you," she said. "And also if it were destiny, then I could tell you to leave me alone and we'd end up meeting again. So bye." She started running away. I turned to my friends.

"I'll see you guys at home," I said, running after her.

Like, two minutes later, I wrapped my arm around her chest and pulled back before she crossed the road. She shrieked, knocking me to the floor along with herself. "Ow," I said as she rolled off of me.

"Stop following me," she said.

"Stop almost dying," I said, standing up.

"Seriously," she said. "I don't know you."

"Just let me walk you home," I said. "I swear, I'm not a creep or a weirdo. I just want to make sure you get home okay."

"I need someone to vouch for you," she said, crossing her arms.

"Rosalina I'm a twelve year old kid and you just met my only friends. Who on earth an I gonna find to vouch?" I asked. "Just trust me." She looked at me skeptically, then softened.

"I think it would be best that you give me a piggy back ride so I don't die," she said.

"Sure thing," I said.

She walked around me, jumping onto my back. "Forward my trusty steed!" She exclaimed playfully, making me laugh.

"So, Nat the Great, why are the streets so empty?" she asked.

"It's the first week of summer vacation." I started. "Summer camps haven't started, no school buses, taxis have less work, teachers haven't started their summer jobs yet, and a lot of parents take this week off to spend time with their kids before summer camps start."

"What about your dad?" she asked.

"He takes one week off during the year later in the summer to take me and Alex on a surprise vacation." I said. "He works a lot though."

"What does he do?" she asked.

"I don't know the technical term but he does baby stuff," I said. "Delivery, nursing, keeping them alive."

"So, I've been thinking, and if you're twelve then why do you cook like that?" she asked.

"My mom loved to cook and fatten people up," I said quietly. "Keeps me close to her."

"That's the cutest thing ever," she said. "Turn right here."

"So you had any friends back in Connecticut?" I asked, turning.

"Yea," she said. "My bestie's calling right now. Hold on."

 _Rose! Screamed a high pitched voice. Oh my God, I missed you so much!_

"I saw you this morning," Rosalina said, laughing.

 _You're really bouncy. What's up with that?_

"I'm getting a piggy back ride," Rosalina said. "Gina, this is Nat."

She put her phone in front of my face. On screen was a girl with freckled cheeks and curly red hair. "Hi," I said, smiling at her.

 _Score Rosalina. He is not ugly._

 _Who?_ Came another voice. Another girl, this one with blue eyes and blonde, came on the screen. _Rosalina who is that big bag of hunk?_

"Nat, this is my other friend Stacy." Rosalina said.

"Nice to meet you," I said.

 _It is very nice to meet you._ Stacy said.

"Step off," Rosalina said, moving her phone. "You guys are all the way in Connecticut and were in New York City."

 _Speaking of which, I see you've already dropped us Miss Yankees_. Gina said.

 _That reminds me! Rosa, I convinced my mom to take me and Gina to the Apple to visit you for a week. Stacy said. But only next week. We're still gonna come._

"Awesome," Rosalina said. "I can't wait for you guys to come. And you'll meet my new friends."

"I thought you didn't trust us?" I asked her.

"I'm letting you take me home," she said. "Obviously I'm trusting you not to kill me. Cross the road here."

 _Gotta go, Rose. Talk to you later_. Gina said.

"Bye," Rosalina said, hanging up.

"You're friends are weird," I said. "Especially the blonde."

"Stacy's a little boy crazy." Rosalina said. "She's only twelve and she's dated just about fourteen guys."

"Thanks for the piece of advice," I said.

"You had a thing for her?" Rosalina asked a little disappointed.

"No," I said. "I'm more into chill types of girls. I'm a chill type of person, but out there is good too. And you would have to get along with my friends, because they're my top priority. And Alex."

"I thought he was an ass?" Rosalina asked.

"He's an awesome ass," I said.

"We're here," Rosalina said.

I opened up a gate then walked up the steps. "Thank you for the ride," she said with a smile.

"Your welcome," I said. "You know, we're probably gonna be at the park again tomorrow. If you wanted to come by and then maybe I could show you around town."

"Sure," she said. "If you still wanted to make dinner, I wouldn't mind."

I smiled, following her inside.


	5. It's Not a Date!

Chapter 5: It's Not A Date!

Rosalina's POV

The next day, I jumped out of bed a few minutes after noon. What, it was summer? I quickly took a shower, then put on my favorite outfit: high waisted black shorts with a white, loose, tee shirt on the crop top side, black and white converse, and black with a red stripe mid calf socks. My hair was down and parted so you could see the giant bump on my face. It was on the girlie side, but who cares. I grabbed my phone out of charge then ran down the stairs, quickly eating left overs from dinner. "Where are you off to?" Dad asked.

"Remember the boy who made dinner? Well, he's showing me around town today." I said.

"So you're going on a date?" He asked.

"No," I said. "It's not a date. He's just being nice."

"Well have fun," he said.

"Bye Dad," I said, heading out the door.

I took a quick jog to the park, then started walking when I reached the entrance. The group of girls from yesterday were there, but this time they were talking with Nat and his friends. Nat saw me and smiled. He had on some camouflage pants and a black muscle tee, and my Yankees cap on backwards. He summoned me to them, so walked over. "Meghan, this is my friend, Rosalina," Nat said. "Rosalina say hi."

"Hi—"

"Listen, Nat is not your little play thing little girl." Meghan snapped. "You're a newbie which means you have to start from the bottom."

"Don't talk to her like that," Alex said, stepping in front of me.

"Back up little baby, let the big kids talk," Meghan said.

"Don't talk to my little brother like that," Nat said. "Now, I can hang out with who ever I want to, okay? We broke up two months ago, get over it!"

"Ugh!" She stormed off, along with her little entourage. Nat took off my cap and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I am so sorry Rosalina," he said, turning to face me. "Meg's crazy. You ready to go?"

"Sure," I said nervously.

"I'll be back dudes," Nat said to his friends. "Don't leave without me."

As we walked along the streets, I turned to Nat. "So, what's the deal with Meghan?" I asked.

"Uhh, she asked me out around Valentine's Day and it was fun for a while but she was kinda clingy so I ended it a few weeks back. She was not so happy and doesn't like it when I hang out with other girls."

"She should just except that you do not like her," I said.

"Gee if you she could think like you," Nat said, laughing lightly. "So you any had any relationships?"

"I'm twelve, I don't think I should be dating when they still give me kid's menu." He laughed again.

"I like your outfit today," he said. "I see you're driving away from the boyish clothes."

"Well actually I enjoy dressing boyish. Very comfortable." I said. "And what's with the camouflage?"

"I literally picked these things up off the floor." He said. "Only things that don't smell. I seriously need to do laundry."

"That's my hat," I pointed out.

"Yea," he said. "I forgot to give it back to you yesterday. Sorry about that." He took it off of his head, and placed it on my head securely. "Completes your outfit. Now you look even prettier."

"Thank you," I said.

"You wanna go up?" He asked, pointing at where the Empire State Building was.

"Sure," I said. "But I do have a deadly fear of heights."

"Don't worry, I've taken tons of people up here and no one has ever died or something," he said.

"Okay," I said uneasily.

.

"Thank you for the tour," I said as we walked towards the park.

"Anytime," Nat said. "You're my friend, I do anything for my friends."

"Yea," I said a little sadly. Here I am with this beautiful guy who's super nice and he says we're friends.

"You sound sad," he said. He stepped in front of me. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said, looking past him. "Meghan's coming."

He groaned, then smiled at me. "Do something please!" he whispered.

"Me? What am I supposed to do?" I asked in panic.

"Uhh," he grabbed my arms and pressed his lips to mine. After a few seconds he pulled back and looked at me expectantly. "Is she gone?"

"Uh huh," I said, still in shock.

"Sorry about that," he said. "Meg's gonna be talking, but for now she's gone."

"Okay," I said.

"Come on," he said, nudging me. "Never been kissed?"

"No," I said, walking alongside him. "At least not until now."

"Aw no," he groaned. "Now your first kiss is gonna be a bad one."

"I wouldn't say it was a bad one," I said quietly.

"It was awful." Nat said. "There wasn't even a little spark. Admit it. Could've done so much better."

"How do you know that? You been kissed before?"

"No," Nat said. "But another reason that I broke up with Meg was because she tried to cheat on me with David. She kissed David like twice and David told me all about it. But I think that it was already a mistake to date her. Anyway, I think I could've kissed you better."

"It's okay," I said. "A kiss is a kiss. Plus, you don't get do overs for a first kiss."

"Aw man," he said. "What if I said please?"

"I'll consider it," I said. "But you'd have to catch me first."

I took off running not looking behind me. It didn't take long for Nat to catch me. He wrapped his arms around my torso, and pulled me back, making me laugh loudly. "I think I won," he said in my ear. He spun me around so I was facing him and, holding onto my waist, softly kissed my lips. It felt like everything else stopped and there was nothing there but us. It was magic. So sad it had to end and all the sounds had to come back.

.

"You went on a date!" Gina exclaimed excitedly.

"It's not a date," I argued. "And also he's right there." Nat looked over his shoulder and smiled at me.

"It was totally a date, Rosa," Stacy said, coming onto the screen.

"It was not a date," I said. "We literally went sightseeing. Nothing special."

"But he kissed you," Stacy interjected.

"To scare his ex off," I added.

"But then he kissed you again," Gina said. "So therefore, it was a date."

"It wasn't a date," Nat called over his shoulder.

"Boom!" I said.

"Why is he at your house?" Stacy asked.

"I'm at his house," I corrected. "For lunch."

Alex came running out of the play room (that's what I'm calling it) with a lightsavor in his hands and a Jedi robe on. "Rosalina! Rosalina!" He exclaimed. "You want to play Star Wars with us?"

"I've never seen Star Wars," I said.

Who's that! Gina asked.

"This is Alex, Nat's little brother," I said.

"Please Rosalina?" Alex asked. "I need another Jedi and Thomas and David refuse to be on the same team as me."

"What about Qaasim?" I asked.

"He's Darth Vadar so he can't switch," Alex said. "Please?"

"Sure," I said, getting up. "Bye ladies. And it was not a date."

"It was totally a date," Alex said just before I hung up.

"Alex!" Nat whined.

"I'm gonna borrow Rosalina for a while," Alex told him, dragging me into the room.


	6. MeghanxxNat

Chapter 6: MeghanxxNat

Nat's POV

So after we ate lunch and the guys exhausted Rosalina, we decided to call it a day. David's mom came and took him and Thomas, then Qaasim's mom came for him. Alex was playing some skateboarding video game and Rosalina was texting her friends. Her friends were really weird.

 _*flashback*_

 _Sometime around February, I was just chilling on my way to math class. It was just me, Qaasim, and Cooper since David and Thomas had done something idiotic at lunch and were in the principal's office. Unfortunately, Cooper had science right now so he left us in the west hall. It was just me and Qaasim, walking and talking. At least until the popular girls came over. We may only be sixth graders, but they were already some of the most popular people in the school._

 _There was Jenna, Monica, Miranda, Amy, and in the center was Meghan. They were all pretty, but Meghan was the center of attention. She had jet black hair and sparkling green eyes. Everybody wanted to date her, which was weird cause we were sixth graders. Who knew I'd end up being the 'lucky guy'._

 _"Hey Nat," she said with a smile._

 _"Sup Meg," I said. "What goes on?"_

 _"Well Valentine's Day is coming up, and so's the school dance." Meghan said. "Do you maybe want to go with me?"_

 _"Sure," I said. Freeze Wolff. You just agreed to go out with Meghan Manfer, the absolute cutest girl ever. You are not freaking out?_

 _*end flashback*_

So Meghan was the cutest girl ever. She was very extremely thin, which I couldn't stand. I mean, even Alex had a little bulk on him. Rosalina was like bone with skin on it. It made me so upset to see such a nice, pretty, friendly girl looking like she was about to die. I knew her for two days and I was really worried about her.

I felt her head rest on my shoulder. I looked sideways at her, seeing she was dozing off. "Let's get you home," I whispered to her. She nodded.

"Just a few minutes of sleep," she said in a tired voice.

"Okay," I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Just five minutes."

Okay, so what happened was that she fell asleep and then I fell asleep. And then Alex fell asleep, so we were all sleeping for an hour or two. At least until my Dad came home. He first woke Alex up, then me. When I woke up I woke up Rosalina. She groaned, sitting up. "Has it been five minutes?" she asked.

"I think a little more then that," I said, rubbing my eyes. "Hey Dad, this is Rosalina. Rosalina, that's my Dad."

"Nice to meet you," Rosalina said.

"Nice to meet you too," Dad said. "No dinner Nat?"

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Nearly 8," he said.

"Aw man," I groaned. "I fell asleep Dad, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Nat, we can just order a pizza," Dad said.

"Hey Nat, I'm gonna head home," Rosalina said, looking at her phone.

"Dad, I'm gonna walk Rosalina home, Kay?" I asked.

"Alright. Alex, get to ordering the pizza."

.

While I was getting ready for bed, my dad called me into his room. He had his laptop open and looked like he was the bearer of bad news. He told me to sit, then began. "A few months after you were born, I went back to work. One of my favorite patients come in, claiming she went into labor."

"Uh Dad, I'm pretty sure we already had this talk." I said nervously.

"No, this is completely different." He said. "So the woman came and said she was in labor. And it was weird because she was only seven months pregnant. So sure enough, she did give birth. She let me take a picture of the baby."

On his laptop was a little baby. The baby was so small it fit in the palm of his hand. It was all wrinkled and looked really sick. "We all thought the baby was going to die, but we still helped her. We gave her extra food and nutrition and made sure she got more breast milk. When she was born she was close to 3 pounds."

"Is she okay?" I asked, on the verge of tears.

"I haven't heard from the mother since we released her and her child."

"Why did you show me this?" I asked, a few tears spilling out of my eyes.

"Nat, I'm happy to hear that you care about your new friend so much. And Alex tells me that she's well underweight and you keep on helping her. I'm proud of you Nat. I'm sure your mother would be very proud."

Just cut the rope. I was already tearing up, but bringing up my mom really throws me over the edge. I hate crying. It's like you want to barf but can't and instead water comes out of your eyes. My throat gets all clogged, my nose all puffy along with the area around my eyes and my eyes, and my cheeks get really rosy.

D-do you re-remember the ba-baby's n-name?" I stuttered, looking up at him.

"I do," he said quietly. As he said the name, my heart broke into a million pieces.


	7. Gina and Stacy Come to Town

Chapter 7: Gina and Stacy Come to Town

 **So I've done a lot of thinking and I'm still not sure if I'm gonna have a band in this story, but chances are it's gonna happen. There is still a 50/50 chance so we'll see where the story goes.**

Rosalina's POV

I spent the next day painting my room, then the day after that shopping. I mean, shopping alone isn't fun, but I needed some clothes. Especially since it was summer so buying winter clothes now would be cheap. Then, on Friday, I was actually able to decorate my room. This decorating lasted all weekend cause I kept on not liking how it was. On Sunday night, just before I went to bed, I heard something outside my window. I got up out of bed and saw Nat sitting on the fire escape. I smiled at him but he didn't even look at me. Strange. I opened the window and climbed out, sitting next to him.

"Hey," I whispered. "You know it's nearly midnight?"

"I couldn't sleep," he said, looking out into the streets.

"What's wrong?" I asked with a concerned tone.

"You've been ignoring us and I got worried," he said.

"I wasn't ignoring you guys," I said. "I've been busy lately."

"Doing what?" he asked, turning to face me. His nose and cheeks were really red, his eyes and nose puffy, and tears falling freely down his face.

"I've just been settling in," I said. "Nat don't cry." I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a hug. "What were you worried about?" I asked quietly.

"I-it's not important," he said, letting go of me. "Now that I know you're okay, I'm gonna go home."

"Absolutely not," I said quickly. "You're upset and its late at night. You are not gonna walk home like this."

"I'm a big boy, I can handle myself," he said, getting up.

"Go downstairs and meet me at the front door," I said, ignoring him. "I need to go get some things."

"Okay," he said, wiping his eyes. As he walked down, I climbed back into my room, then out the door. I ran straight into my father, who looked a little concerned.

"Where's the fire?" he joked.

"No where," I said quickly. "Hey Dad, remember my friend that came over and cooked on Monday? Well he's really upset and thought something bad happened to me or whatever and he came by just now and can he says the night please?"

"Sure," he said.

"Awesome thanks," I said. I ran past him and quickly down the stairs, knowing Nat was probably heading home. I opened the door and sure enough he was walking down the sidewalk in the direction of his house. His shoulder slumped forward, and he was looking down. I ran at full speed then tackled him to the ground. He shrieked, almost punching me in the face. I caught his fist just before it hit, letting him see it was me. "You could've been mugged," I said. "There are a lot of crazy people out there."

"Like you?" he asked in panic.

"Let's go," I said, standing up.

"You're insane, and I'm going home," he said.

"Nat, all Monday and Tuesday I let you baby me," I said. "Just let me baby you this one time."

"Fine," he groaned, following me.

"For someone who was just crying you've bounced back quickly," I said as we walked inside.

"Don't tell anyone about it," he said quickly.

"Does your Dad know you're gone?" I asked, pulling out the couch bed.

"Yea," Nat said.

"I'm gonna go grab you a pillow and blanket," I said. "I'll be right back."

.

When I woke up, the house smelt amazing. I walked down the stairs and saw Nat, shirtless, in front of the stove. My two besties sat at the table, eating something. I ran down, hugging them each. "Rose, you didn't tell us you had a personal chef," Gina said.

"And he's so yummy looking," Stacy said, reaching over to Nat.

"If you touch my ass again I'm gonna put your hands in this skillet," Nat warned, not even turning around.

"Where'd my dad go?" I asked him.

"He said he went to work and he'd be back a little while after dinner," Nat said, turning to face me. If I thought he was fine on Monday, he must be a God today. "Um, Rosalina? Are you okay?"

"Yea," I said quietly.

He put a plate filled with food on the table. "Eat up."

"Not hungry," I said, pushing it in his direction.

"I woke up at sunrise to make you breakfast. You're gonna eat even if I have to tie you to a chair and feed it to you myself." he said in a low voice.

"Ya know, I am a little hungry," I said nervously sitting down.

"Damn," Gina mumbled, going back to her food.

"After you finish eating I'm gonna head home and probably expect to see you at the park. But like everyday last week, you won't be there." Nat said, picking his shirt up off of the chair.

"Aw, you don't need to put that back on," Stacy said with a pouty face.

"Down girl," Gina said, making me giggle.

"Hey Rosalina, are you going to be at the park today?" Nat asked, pulling his shirt over his head. "Cause we're still gonna play football."

"I don't know," I said with my mouth full. "My girls just came to town."

"Who are you playing with?" Gina asked.

"My friends and brother," Nat answered.

"Are they as fine as you?" Stacy asked.

Nat chuckled. "No, not really." he said. "And don't ask about my brother because he is 9."

Nat walked over to me, taking the fork from my hands. "What are you doing?" I asked with worry. He took a big bunch on the fork and put in front of my face. He looked at me with a serious, expectant face. I opened my mouth and he put the food inside. I bit down on the fork then he pulled it out.

"Good girl," he said, patting my head. "See how easy it is to eat?"

I nodded, chewing slowly. He went over to Gina, whispering with her. She whispered back, and he smiled a nodded. "I'm gonna wash the dishes," he told me, walking to the sink. "You have ten minutes to finish that food or else."

"Okay," I said with my mouth full.

As soon as ten minutes passed, Nat came over, looking at my half eaten plate.

"I'm full," I said.

He picked me up, pulling me over his shoulder. He tossed me onto the couch, standing over me. He smiled evilly, then started tickling my sides. I was in a fit of laughter and he was laughing as well. "You don't want to eat then you get tickled!" He exclaimed.

"Nat stop!" I said through laughter. He stopped instantly, looking at me.

"You know it pains me to force you to eat," he whispered in my ear. "It really does. And I really want you to eat. Could you please eat? For me?"

I nodded. He stood up, pulling me off the couch. Just as we walked back into the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Nat glanced at me, and we both walked over to the door. I opened it, seeing Alex and the rest of Nat's friends there. "We missed your food," David said to Nat. "So we came by for breakfast."

"We brought you some clothes too," Thomas said.

"I brought you clothes," Alex corrected. "May we come in, Rosalina?"

"Sure thing little dude." I said, stepping to the side. They came in, really loud. I ran into the kitchen stopping them. "Gina and Stacy, meet David, Thomas, Qaasim, and Alex."

They all greeted each other. "I'm gonna make some more food. You go get ready for your super fun day." Nat whispered in my ear.

.

Today, I'm guessing, I had some surprise plans. I wasn't dressy, but I didn't wear boy clothes. I had on overall shorts with a white long sleeved crop top, the sleeves rolled up, my Yankees cap, and red, white, and black high tops with black mid calf socks. "Are you wearing the same socks all the time?" Qaasim asked me.

"I'm wearing variations of the same socks," I corrected.

"Alright Yankee Doddle, finish eating," Nat said. "Or else I will tickle you again."

"Okay okay," I said, sitting down. "You know, you shouldn't make so much food. It's not like I'm gonna die or something." He stiffened, then looked at me.

"Don't talk about death," he said quietly.

I guess I just poking a sore spot, but only Alex and I noticed. Alex brought over a chair, sitting next to me. "Don't worry about him," Alex said. "He's just been a little..weird lately. He'll bounce back though. He's like a rubber band."

I nodded, eating my food quietly while watch Nat. Something was up, and I was determined to find out what.


	8. The Truth is Revealed

Chapter 8: The Truth is Revealed

Nat's POV

My friends and Rosalina's friends all went to the park. Meghan and her entourage took this as the perfect time to bring their nasty attitudes towards life over to our happiness. She had that fake little smile of hers on her face, walking up to us. "Hey baby," she said in my direction.

"Alex I think she's talking to you," I said, making the guys laugh.

"I am not a baby!" Alex exclaimed, walking off to the jungle gym. "I'm going to play there since they finally got rid of the over dressed prissy pests that infested it."

We laughed some more. "Sweetheart, tell your brother not to be mean to us," Meghan said.

I looked over my shoulder. "Me sweetheart?" I asked. "Cause last time I checked I wasn't anybody's sweetheart."

"You're my sweetheart," Meghan said sweetly.

I groaned. "Oh spare me the boring apology." I said, rolling my eyes. "You are not going to be forgiven, ever. Got that? I will never forgive you for what you did. You deliberately went behind my back and cheated on me with one of my best friends and you thought that was okay?"

God, I was getting mad.

"Come on, Natty," she said. "Can't we just kiss and make up?"

"No we can't," I said, crossing my arms. "Sorry to break it to you, but this isn't some movie where everything works out in your favor. I don't want a relationship right now, okay?"

"Then what are you doing hanging out with that?" she asked, gesturing to Rosalina. Her face flushed and she looked down at her shoes.

"Rosalina is my friend, okay?" I asked. "Or do I need approval from your royal highness before I can have friends?"

"I'm not gonna ask you again, Nat," she said seriously.

"You never asked me in the first place!" I exclaimed. "You just assumed I wanted you back."

I could see my friends were playing football, but still paying attention in case I needed to be calmed down.

"Who wouldn't want me back?" She asked. "Look at me."

"Looks aren't the only thing," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You're one to talk," she said, gesturing towards my body. "You've got this awesome body and your so fucking talented!"

"And?" I asked. "Just cause I'm good looking doesn't mean that's the only reason people like me?"

"Why don't you ask your stupid new friends then?" Monica said, her arms crossed like the mindless follower she was.

"Rosalina isn't my friend just because I'm good look," I snapped.

"Why don't you ask her yourself and find out?" Miranda asked. I rolled my eyes, calling Rosalina over. She quickly jogged over, stopping in front of me.

"What's up?" she asked. She had grass stains on the sleeves of her white tee shirt. Never wear white anywhere near me and my friends.

"Are you only friends with me because I look good?" I asked, looking at her. She bit her lower lip, thinking about the question for a moment.

"Well, not really," she said in her innocent little voice.

"Is that the only reason that you hung around with me?" I asked a little hurt.

"To be fair you knocked me into the grass the knocked me out in one day. Then when I actually got a good look at you you were shirtless and then you took me to your house and forced me to take a nap and then when I woke up you were practically naked." she babbled on, but I dropped her.

"Wow, and I thought you were different from other girls." I said, really hurt. "I thought you would actually be different, but I guess your little gender is that selfish."

"Nat—"

"No, it's okay Rosalina. Go to your friends and go have a fun little shopping trip or whatever it is you guys do." I said. "I'm going home, and don't follow."

I walked off quickly, leaving the park as fast as I could. I went into an empty warehouse, closing the door behind me before sitting down on the dusty floor. Before I knew it, I was hugging my knees to my chest, crying with my head down.


	9. Alex to the Rescue

Chapter 9: Alex to the Rescue

Rosalina's POV

I turned around to the girls who looked just as confused and sad as I did. The only one's name I knew was Meghan, but she was kind of an ass so. I shook my head, walking past them to the jungle gym. If I were Nat, I would've chased him down, followed him. He did that to me. But I could tell I really hurt him. I could clearly see the hurt in those big brown eyes, along with confusion and a little anger. Alex sat next to me in the sand.

"Where'd Nat go?" he asked.

"He says he went home but I don't think he did," I said quietly. "I really hurt him, Alex."

"What could you have done that made Nat hurt?" Alex said. "He's crazy about you. He spent all last week worrying about you. He didn't make breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Friday. On Saturday he locked himself in our room and when I got in I found him pacing the floor like you were in a life or death accident. It was crazy."

"Oh," I said even quieter.

"I mean it Rosalina." Alex said. "He is crazy about you. Like ever since he met you he can't think straight unless he knows you're okay. Like when he hit you the football and you were out of it for an hour. He even considered calling an ambulance, but that would mean we'd have to go to a payphone. He took the football away from us and said that when you wake up we get it back. He even made us help him carry you to a park bench."

Now I felt even worse. I probably crushed him or something. But I couldn't lie to him. Plus, he'd see through my lies. "What's wrong?" Thomas asked, walking over with his friends and mine. "Where'd Nat go?"

"A walk," Alex answered. "He asked us to make sure Rosalina got home okay."

That part sounds like something Nat would do. Well, he'd do it himself. We all walked back to my house, Alex and I hanging in the back. "You sure you're okay?" Qaasim whispered to me. I nodded, staring past him. As soon as I got home, the guys looked around for some food. I guess they were used to always eating after playing in the park. Stacy and Gina pulled me into a separate hall, looking serious.

"Rose, sweetie, what's wrong?" Stacy asked. "What did those mean girls say to you?"

"Nothing," I said. That was the truth. At least today it was. Today it was more of a Nat and me problem.

"You haven't said a word since Nat left," Stacy said. "And you never not talk."

"What's up?" Gina asked.

"Nat asked me if I was his friend because he was cute," I said quietly. "And he can see right through me and I couldn't lie and it made him feel so awful."

"But you can't help it," Stacy said. "What did you tell him?"

I repeated how the conversation went down, then looked up at them. "Now, if this was just some other boy I'd say lets go shopping and you will feel so much better," Gina said. "But anyone can tell that it was obviously destiny that you and Nat met. So we have to fix this."

"If I may interject," Alex said, walking over to us. "Now, Nat is my brother, so I can help you fix this. But it isn't going to be easy, because he's really stubborn. He might not have even gone home. And you don't really know if he'll come around. So I'm gonna take these lunatics back to my place. Rosalina, just relax. Hang out with your friends while you still have them here. I'll call you as soon as I get an idea."

"Okay Alex," I said quietly. He smiled, giving me a hug before going going back to the kitchen.

.

Gina and Stacy were staying in a hotel. After we had our 'awesome' day, which wasn't awesome for me but they had fun, I went back home. I didn't eat anything, just stared at my food. I put in back in the refrigerator, then got ready for bed. Before I could even think about going to sleep, I stared out my window for a few minutes. Eventually I fell asleep there, which was really awful.


	10. Playing the Piano

Chapter 10: Playing the Piano

Nat's POV

I left the warehouse close to midnight, and snuck into my apartment so I wouldn't wake anyone up. I was so hungry, but I didn't want anyone to wake up. I quietly went into my room, climbing onto the top bunk. "Nat?" Alex whispered. "Is that you?"

"Yea," I said quietly. "I'm here, don't worry."

"Where'd you go?" Alex asked, peaking his head over the railing.

"I'll tell you in the morning. Get some sleep, okay?"

He nodded, going back to his bed.

.

I didn't wake up until after 1pm, so breakfast was already over. Alex had made himself some cereal so I didn't have anything to worry about. I was still in my jeans and tee shirt from yesterday, my hair a mess, but I didn't do anything about it. I took the cereal box, pouring the cereal in my mouth. Alex stared at me in disgust. "Dude, you hate cereal," he said. "You never eat it. What's up with you?"

I shrugged, putting the box down. "Is it because of Rosalina?" Alex asked. "We were talking yesterday, ya know. She said she's really sorry."

"I don't care," I said quietly. "I'm not friends with her."

"Nat you're being ridiculous," he said. "Every girl thinks your cute. What's the big deal?"

"They all try to be my friend because I'm cute and I thought Rosalina actually wanted to be my friend."

"She does what to be your friend," Alex said.

"No she doesn't," I said. "She only wants to get to know me because of my looks."

"I'm going to go to the skate bark with Juanita today," he said. "David and Thomas have to take a few summer classes every Tuesday, and Qaasim is getting ready to go out of town. You do you, but really think about the type of friend you're letting go."

He got up, grabbed his gear and skateboard before leaving. I sighed, going over to the living room. I picked up the phone and called my only not busy friend, Cooper. He said he was on his way, so I went and unlocked the door. After what felt like forever, I went over to the grand piano sitting in our living room. I started playing a soft melody I wrote when I was like eight. But now, for some reason, I actually sang words.

You went to live your life

But why'd you have to go

Your my only love

My only never ending love

Rosalina, Rosalina

I don't know where those words came from, but they went with the melody.

I'll never be the same

I'll miss you till I die

Your my only love

My only never ending love

Rosalina, Rosalina

The door opened, but I didn't really look up to see who was there. I sang the first part again, then continued playing the melody. I looked up, seeing a sad looking Rosalina looking down at her sneakers, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. I softly ended the song, then looked up at her. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, and she had on a basketball jersey and some gym shorts with black converse. She stood by the egg chair, a good twenty feet away from me. She looked up at me, rocking on her heals.

"Nat I'm really sorry," she said. "I know that you wanted me to want to be your friend because of what's on the inside, and I honestly did. It's just that I first noticed you looks."

I got up, wrapping her in a hug. "Rosalina I should be apologizing," I said, pulling back. "I way overreacted. And I almost lost you as a friend."

She smiled, then took my hand in hers. She walked us over back to the piano, and we sat down. "So I'm guessing you heard the song?" I asked.

"I was standing outside your door and I heard the piano. Then I heard you singing." she explained.

I was blushing. I just said she was my only never ending love and she heard it all. "It was really good," she continued. "I just wish I knew who this 'Rosalina' was."

I couldn't help but smile, looking at her. "What?" she asked. "If you were talking about me you would say Yankee Doodle." I laughed lightly, then I kissed her lips. It felt, weird. Her lips were soft, and she was shocked, but after a few seconds I felt her pressing her lips against mine. And I liked it. I softly pulled back, seeing her smiling. She looked away, a blush on her cheeks.

"Well that was different," I said quietly.

"A good different," she said.

"Yea," I said. "Do you maybe want to do it again?" I asked her this very quietly because I was really scared she would leave. She turned her head back to me, smiling. Then her smile faded.

"Nat, you were wearing that yesterday," she said. "What time did you get home?"

"Around midnight," I said quietly.

"And what were you doing?"

"Just avoiding everything," I said.

"And where were you?"

"Nowhere."

"Nat." she said sternly.

"I was sitting in an old warehouse, being upset." I said. "And I maybe haven't really showered in a while. And now I'm realizing that I probably shouldn't have kissed you because everything about me is all gross."

"It's okay," she said, elbowing me. "I'll let it slide if you go right now."

I smiled eagerly, getting up and running to my room.


	11. The Guidance Councilor

Chapter 11: The Guidance Councilor

Rosalina's POV

While Nat was doing his boy business, I played little pieces of music I knew on the piano. The door opened and in walked a kid around Nat's age with short black hair, thick glasses, and a suit on? Weird. He looked at me curiously, walking over. "Cooper Pilot, nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand.

"I'm Rosalina," I said, shaking it. "It's nice to meet you too."

He smiled. "So, where's Nat?"

"He's doing boy business," I said. "Shower, brushing, getting dressed. Other things boys do to get ready for their day."

He laughed lightly. "You want a snack, Rosalina?" He asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Depends." I said. "I don't want it if Nat made it."

"Nat doesn't make snacks. He makes meals." We both chuckled. "The only snacks are for when they go to practices for sports."

"Not surprised they play sports," I mumbled. Then, to Cooper, I said, "How come you don't play in the park with them?"

"I'm not an outdoors person," Cooper said, tossing me a bag of chips. "I'm more, inside make sure everything goes right."

"Well you should play with them sometime," I said. "Even Alex is tough to beat."

"That is why I don't play with them." Cooper said. "They've made even Alex too hard to beat."

"So how come they don't talk about you?" I asked.

"I'm more of a school friend and a guidance councilor to them," Cooper said.

"Well you're pretty cool," I said. "So, do you know why Nat asked you here?"

"All he told me was that it was lady issues." Cooper said.

"Well, I'm the lady that's causing him issues," I said. "But we worked it out."

"Then I guess my work here is done," Cooper said, heading to the door.

"You don't hang to leave yet," I said. "I'm sure Nat wants to talk to you."

As if on cue, Nat walked out of his room. He had on brown cargo pants and a white muscle tee shirt with a towel around his neck, his hair dripping. He smiled at me, then at Cooper. "Hey Coop," he said, slapping his hand. "I see you've met my girlfriend."

"And when did that happen?" I asked, standing up and crossing my arms. "I was never asked by anyone." Nat smiled, turning to me.

"Well then," he said. "Rosalina, my very sweet Yankee Doodle, would you please be my girlfriend?"

"I'll have to think about it," I said. "A lot of people have asked me that."

"Like who?" he asked, crossing his arms to mock me.

"Well a kid who sang the sweetest song saying I was his never ending love," I listed.

"That was me, and it just came out," he said. "Don't make me tickle you again."

I immediately sat down, looking a little scared. "Okay, Nat I have never seen you that happy before." Cooper said.

"Well I've just got a lot to be happy about," he said, taking my chips. "Isn't that right, Yankee?"

"Correct," I said, smiling.

"Got any lady advice for me before I kick you out?" Nat asked.

"I think that you shouldn't tell the guys. Just let them find out. It's funny when they're confused."

"They are always funny," Nat said.

"Ill see you later dude," Cooper said.

"Absolutely," Nat said, leading him out. "See you later."

Nat walked over to me, sitting next to me. "You know, I haven't seen you so casually dressed in a while." He said.

"The last time I was casually dressed my boyfriend mistook me for a boy," I said. "Then I got really bored of girlie clothes."

He laughed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "You know, I walked home by myself last night and no one tried to mug me." he pointed out. "So you should really change your judgment towards New Yorkers."

"I'm not saying it's only happened in New York," I argued. "I'm saying that you're a kid, and you're very vulnerable."

"Well I didn't get mugged, so ha," he said.

"Oh shut up," I said.

"Where are your friends?" he asked.

"They said I'm not allowed back inside until 7," I said.

"Well, I'm free until Alex stops avoiding me," he said.

"And why is he avoiding you?"

"Cause I was being stubborn and was mad at you." he said. "I even ate cereal."

"I love cereal!" I said. "It's the best."

"What did you eat this morning?" he asked suddenly.

"Nothing," I said nonchalantly.

"Well you're very lucky I over spelt and didn't make breakfast. But now I'm gonna make you some lunch."

Before he stood up, I pulled him back down. "Why don't we go out for lunch?" I asked. "It'll be fun, plus you don't have to cook."

"I love cooking for you," he said. "But I'll do it."

He stood up, walking around the piano and taking my hand.


	12. Quick Resolutions

Chapter 12: Quick Resolutions

Nat's POV

There was a diner on 8th street that I took Rosalina too. Before she could order, I placed her order cause I know she was gonna get a salad or something. So I got her some fries, a nice meaty cheeseburger, and a cola. She was pretty much gonna kill me, I could see it in her eyes. As soon as the waitress left, she slapped her hands on the table. "What the hell Nat," she said harshly.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"Nah, I'm just getting some meat into you."

"Nat, you don't need to do that."

"Too bad," I said. "I want to. I like making sure that you don't die."

"I'm not gonna—"

"Well you could." I snapped. "And don't act like you don't know. It's dangerous how you don't eat, okay? And it's not even getting on my nerves, it's scaring me."

"Nat, I'm sorry," she said. "But if I don't want to eat then I don't want to eat."

"I know you don't want to eat but you have to." I said. "It's for your health."

"You sound like my doctor," she said with a tone.

"Well you should listen to your doctor," I said, crossing my arms.

"What's the worse that can happen?" she asked.

"Weak immune system, fragile bones, tiredness," I listed. "Rosalina this isn't funny. You could get really sick."

"Well I'm not, okay? Get off of my back about. Drop it." she said. I rolled my eyes, looking out of the window. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

"Whatever," I said.

"Nat," she said sympathetically.

"Go to the bathroom!" I said suddenly. "I don't care. I'll find something else to care about."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her said face. She got up, walking slowly to the bathroom.

.

Rosalina's POV

I did not need to go to the bathroom. I just went to clear my mind. It made Nat really sensitive when we talked about this, almost like he knew someone who had died from being underweight. Honestly, he was really right. I was feeling really weak lately. At first I thought it was just because my mom died and I felt helpless. But now that he said it, maybe it was that I was getting sick.

I splashed some cold water on my face, then dried up before going back out. I sat next to Nat this time, resting my head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for yelling at you," I whispered in his ear.

"Whatever," he said again, making me sigh. I hugged him, but he pushed me off.

"I don't like hugging you," he said. "It makes me sad since I can feel all of your bones. I shouldn't be able to feel all of your bones."

"Nat," I said sympathetically.

"And you know what else? I've had a massive crush on you since we first started hanging out. And I didn't do anything about it because I didn't want to hurt you." he said.

"How could you hurt me?" I asked.

"I feel as if whenever I hug you tightly I might be breaking your bones." He turned to me, looking at me seriously. "I'm scared that I might hurt you, Rosalina."

"Nat, even if you did hurt me, I'd know it wasn't on purpose." I said.

"But if you get injured and it's because of me, accident or not, I could never ever forgive myself." he said. "I really care about. I hope you know that."

"Of course I know that," I said. "I don't think you just let every person you knock out hang out at your house." He smiled, kissing my forehead. "Don't do that."

"Why?" he asked worriedly.

"Well, my lips are down here," I said. He smiled even bigger, pressing his lips to mine softly. When he pulled back, he put his arm around my shoulder, holding me close.

"But I really want to know if you get sick easily." he said quietly in my ear.

"Sometimes," I said. "And yes, I feel really weak right now. So now I'm gonna shut up and eat my food because I shouldn't have had to meet you to know I should be eating."

"You are very smart," he said, kissing the top of my head.


	13. Someone Help

Chapter 13: Someone Help

Rosalina's POV

After we ate, we went back to Nat's apartment. Alex still wasn't there, and after a lot of begging, I got Nat to play me the piano again. "I don't like playing piano," he said.

"What if I said please?" I asked.

"Nope," he said.

"Please please pretty please Nat," I said. "You're so good at it."

"No I'm not," he said.

"Nat please!" I begged. "Please play another song."

"The only song that has words is the one I made up earlier," he said.

"Please Nat," I begged. "Please please please please please please please please please—"

"Alright," he said, covering my mouth. "God you are annoying."

We both sat down at the piano, his hands hovering over the keys. I stared at him expandable when the door opened. A little girl with light caramel skin and curly black hair came in on a skateboard. Alex came in after her on his one skateboard before falling off and onto the carpet. The girl stopped, turning and laughing at him. "Nice one dude," she said in a slightly raspy voice.

"Not funny," Alex said, getting up. "Just because I'm not as good as you doesn't mean it's funny." He looked over at us, smiling.

"Hey Alex," Nat and I called.

"Hey guys," Alex said. "Rosalina, that's Juanita. She's my jerky best friend."

"Listen, I beat you to your apartment, so I get the last carton of milk," Juanita said.

"No!" Alex yelled. "Drum off, please."

"That's not fair," Juanita said. "You're like a professional."

"That's how you are with skateboard," Alex argued.

"Alex, she won fair and square," Nat said, moving his hands from the piano.

"Nat, you said you'd play the piano," I whispered in his ear.

"I don't wanna," he whined.

"Fine," I said. "But you have to show me something awesome."

"I do have some movies," he said, walking around the piano. He took my hand, taking me over to the couch.

All afternoon, we walked random movies he found sitting around his apartment. It wasn't until 6:30 he decided to take me. He convinced me to get on his back, and we walked in silence for most of the journey. When we were only a few blocks, I finally spoke up. "My legs aren't broken, you know."

"I want to make sure you don't blindly walk into the street," he said. "Plus it's a workout."

"Are you sure about that?" I asked.

"Yea," he said. "Even though you weigh less then Alex. But I would never give Alex this special treatment. Or anyone but you."

"Glad to know I'm so special," I said, kissing his cheek. I could see him smile as he walked up the steps. He picked a piece of paper off of the door, handing it to me.

 _Dear Rosalina,_

 _Come inside and follow the glitter trails. Don't worry, we'll clean that up later._

 _Hugs and pugs,_

 _Stacy and Gina_

"Onward my trusty stead," I said, handing him the key. He unlocked the door, walking inside and closing t behind him. I took the key back, then told him to follow the glitter trail. He walked in circles for a few minutes before going up the stairs, heading to my room. Before going in, he looked at me to make sure it was okay. I nodded and he opened the door. The room was completely dark, at least until the light turned on unexpectedly. My whole room was remodeled. The bay window at which I saw Nat about a week ago now had soft pillows all around it. The ceiling was decorated with glow in the dark stars, the walls filled with pictures of us together, and, surprisingly, me and the guys.

"It already looked awesome, just needed some final touches," Gina said, walking over to us.

"I can't believe you guys did this for me," I said, hopping off of Nat's back. "This is amazing."

"Well, we did it mainly because we kinda have to leave early," Stacy said.

"What?" I asked.

"We have testing tomorrow cause we didn't do our math midterm," Gina said. "I really wish we could stay."

"Rosalina?" Nat asked, turning to me. "Um, are you okay?"

"Uh yea," I said.

"Rose, where are you going?" Gina asked. I hadn't even noticed I was almost out of the room.

"J-just a walk," I said. "Don't worry."

I quickly ran down the stairs, leaving the house. I ran down the block, turning the street corner before I ran into a guy. I fell on the ground, groaning in pain. I tried to get up, but the guy I ran into pushed me back on the ground. And then I realized that there was about four or five people, teenage boys. "Well what do we have here?" one them asked, standing over me.

"Looks like we've found a little scared girl," another said. "Why are you scared? We're not gonna hurt you."

"G-get away from me," I stuttered out, crawling backwards.

"Where you going, baby?" The first one asked. "Didn't even tell us your name."

"Leave me alone," I said, trying to get up.

"Come on Princess," a third one said. "Where's your fun?" He pulled me off of the ground, pushing me forcefully to his friends. I called for help, which resulted in one of the guys putting something in my mouth.

"Shut up," he said, slapping me.

I was terrified, and not to mention no where near home.


	14. Can She Stay?

Chapter 14: Can She Stay?

Nat's POV

I looked at Rosalina's friends apologetically. Gina sighed, running her hands through her hair. "You should probably go find here," Stacy said. "She tends to run away when she gets upset."

"Yea," Gina said. "Good luck."

"Thanks," I said, walking out of the door. I looked down the right, the way I got here and clearly Rosalina wasn't there. I looked down the left and saw her disappear down the corner. She was running fast. I sighed, chasing after her. She was about six or seven blocks away from her house when she stopped. I skidded to a stop a few yards away from her, unable to see why she stopped. There was a group of guys blocking her from my view, so I really had no idea what was going on. At least until I heard her scream for help. I ran over to the group, forcing myself into the center. What I saw made me want to cry. I don't want to and I can't say for so many reason, but I can tell you it was bad.

.

I took Rosalina back to my house since (1) we were closer and (2) she refused to go back to her house. As soon as I opened the door, she locked herself in the bathroom. "Nat?" Alex asked, following me into our room. "What's wrong?" I sighed, sitting down on his bed.

"I can't really tell you," I said.

"What's wrong with Rosalina?" Alex asked.

"That's what I can't tell you," I said. "Let's just say she's not doing so good right now."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked.

"Yea, she's kinda in need of some newer clothes," I said. "Can you help me please?"

"Sure," Alex said, going over to the drawers. He tossed me my old sweatshirt. "I think she'd like this." he said. "And I can find her some of my shorts to wear."

He tossed me a pair of his gym shorts, then walked over to the door. "By the way, Qaasim, David, and Thomas said they're spending the night." I groaned.

"Alright, thanks Alex." I said.

"No problem," Alex said. "Now go handle your lady troubles." I chuckled, taking the clothes and going to the locked bathroom door. I knocked softly.

"Rosalina, you okay?" I asked. "I brought you some clothes."

The lock clicked and the door opened slightly, and her hand came out. I put the folded clothes over her arm, then watched them go back inside. After a few minutes, the door opened, but she didn't come out. I walked in, seeing her sitting on the floor near the bathtub. Her torn clothes sat in the opposite corner, and she sat with her knees pulled up her chest and her head down. I sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her. She shuddered slightly, then lifted her head to look at me. "Thank you," she said quietly, then rested her head on my chest.

"You should call Gina or Stacy to tell them you're here," I told her. "They're probably worried sick." She put her phone in my hands.

"Could you do it?" she asked.

"Sure," I said. "Also the guys are coming. You cool with that?"

She immediately tensed up, and I hugged her tighter. "Don't worry, the guys are too dense to ever think about doing anything like that. No, they're really too confused all the time to do anything like that."

"Nat, can I stay here tonight?" she asked. "I'm not really mentally prepared to walk around town again."

"Let me call your friends and your dad, okay." I said. "Alex is worried about you too. You should go hang with him. Alex is really cool, and he seems to like you a lot. I mean not like I like you."

"Nat, I get it," she said, standing up. "And I think he's funny. He's like a weirder version of you."

"Ha ha," I said, getting up. "Hilarious."

"Just call for me, and thank you," she said, walking out.

 _Rosalina! Where are you?_

Well Gina, this is Nat.

 _What happened to Rosalina?_

She's with me right now.

 _God I hope she feels better. What happened?_

I don't think now's a good time, but I'll make sure to tell you soon.

 _Okay, send her my stitches._

What?

 _It's our little thing, don't question it._

Alright. Bye Gina.

 _Later Nat._

I hung up, stepping inside my room. Now I just had to call her dad. I pressed his name, then heard him answer.

"Hello, Mr. Tai? This is Rosalina's friend, Nat."

 _How are you, Nat?_

"I'm good. How are you?"

 _I'm fine. So why are you calling?_

"Well, Rosalina is here at my house and she doesn't really feel comfortable with walking back home." After I told him what happened, the line was silent for a while. "Is it okay if she stays here tonight?"

 _Of course. And thank you, Nat._


	15. Nightmares

Chapter 15: Nightmares

Rosalina's POV

Alex was making peanut butter sandwiches and explaining his logic. I was barely listening, playing with a loose thread on Nat's sweatshirt. Alex walked over to me, sitting on the stool next to me. "You know you're really lucky."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because of how awesome Nat is to you," Alex said. "He's really nice and really really cares about you. And he's only know you for two weeks."

"I guess I'm just lucky," I said, shrugging.

"Don't feel too special," Alex said. "You will not get in the way of my brotherly love."

"I wasn't planning on it," I said.

Nat walked in from the hall, taking my hand and leading me to the couch. He put my phone in my hands. "So, anything else I can do for you?" he whispered. After I shook my head, he smiled, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close to him. I rested my head on his shoulder, placing my hand on his chest so I could feel his steady heartbeat. His was really calm, which really surprised me. "Are you tired?" he asked me.

"A little," I said, sitting up. He took my hand, leading me down the hall.

"You can sleep in my bed, okay?" I nodded as we walked into his room. "Oh, and Gina sends you her stitches." I laughed lightly. What was wrong with that girl?

Nat's POV

I helped Rosalina up to the top bunk. She quickly fell asleep, and I quietly left the room. I went into the bathroom, picking her clothes up off the floor. Probably shouldn't leave these laying around. I put them in a bag and tied it up, putting it in my room. I went back to the kitchen, seeing my friends sitting around.

"Hey dude," Qaasim said. "Where've you been?"

"I was putting Rosalina to bed," I said, grabbing a soda out of the fridge.

"What does that even mean?" Thomas asked.

"Listen guys, Rosalina is feeling a little uncomfortable around people at the moment." I said. "So really don't bug her too much."

"Gotcha," they said.

.

When it got close to bed time, Rosalina woke up. Well actually, she got up because she wanted me to sleep in my bed and for her to sleep on the couch. After a lot of arguing, we decided that she'd sleep on Alex's bed, Alex would sleep in my bed, and I'd sleep on the floor. Mainly because she wanted to be close to me and Alex has always wanted to sleep on top.

I was sleeping peacefully, until I felt a bunch of people shaking me. I opened my eyes to see Alex standing over me. I looked around the rest of the guys were there, looking aggravated. "Nat, Rosalina is talking in her sleep," David whispered harshly.

"I think she's having a nightmare," Alex whispered.

"Well why don't you just wake her up?" I asked.

"We can't!" Thomas whispered. "Shaking her makes her freak out."

"Well I don't hear anything," I said, sitting up. They were all quietly staring at me, and then I heard her.

"No, no, stop," she repeated quietly. "Leave me alone. Stop! Help, someone help me. Nat...someone...help!"

I got up, walking over to where she was fidgeting around. "Don't touch her," David warned. "She hit Thomas when he touched her."

"Wake her up though," Thomas added.

"We know it's not really our business, but we really want to help her, so if you have any idea why she isn't waking up, can you tell us?" Qaasim asked.

I sighed. "I'm trusting you guys," I said. "So, she got upset with her friends and ran off. And I chased after her and there were these guys that she ran into. And they were calling her names and pushing her around and then they started ripping off her clothes cause—"

"We get it, Nat," Alex said. "It's okay."

"So shaking her isn't gonna work," Thomas said. "Is there anything else we really know about her that can wake her up?"

"Nat, you were with her earlier today, anything you think would help?" Alex asked.

"Can you guys leave for a few minutes? I have an idea, but I don't really want you guys to know." I said.

"Sure thing dude," David said, walking out. They followed him, closing the door. I sat down on the floor near Rosalina, resting my head on the bed.

"Hey Rosalina," I said quietly. "You're probably having a really bad dream right now. I'm really worried, and I need you to wake up. Now, you know I really don't like singing. But you love hearing me sing, so I'll sing for you. Now, this is the only song I have actually written. But if you wake up, I promise I'll write more songs, just please stop having bad dreams."

I softly and quietly began singing.

 _You went to live your life_

 _But why'd you have to go_

 _Your my only love_

 _My only never ending love_

 _Rosalina, Rosalina_

I looked up at her, seeing she had calmed down slightly. "Nat?" She asked quietly.

"It's okay, Rosie," I said, feeling her head on my shoulder.


	16. Just Chillin

Chapter 16: Just Chillin

Nat's POV

The next morning, the guys and Alex were playing in the fuzzy room while I waited for Rosalina to wake up. Well technically I was making breakfast but I was also waiting for Rosalina. After I finished, I was heading back to my room to check on Rosalina. I walked in, seeing to sitting up on my bed this time, her legs crossed and her head down. She looked up at me, smiling shyly. "Hey Rosie," I said quietly, walking over to the bed. "Feeling better?" She shrugged, then went back to looking down. I climbed up, sitting next to her. "Come on, can you smile for me?"

"No thank you," she said in a small voice.

"But your smile is so beautiful," I said. "What if I said please?"

"Nope," she said, hiding a smile.

"Please pretty please?" I asked, mocking her voice form yesterday.

"You forgot a please," she said.

"Please _please_ pretty please?" I corrected. "Oh Rosalina you're so very good at it."

"Am I really that annoying?" she asked, looking up at me with a smile on her face.

"I thought it was cute," I said.

"Well it's not when you do it," she said, making me chuckle.

"That hurt," I said, touching my chest.

"I'm kidding," she said, nudging my arm. "You are always cute."

"Aw thanks," I said, kissing her cheek. "Now, let's get some food in you." I climbed down first, then she climbed down. We walked back to the kitchen, sitting in the stool. Well, I sat down and she sat on my lap. Alex walked out, stopping and staring at us suspiciously.

"Did I miss something?" Alex asked.

"Nope," I said. "Breakfast is ready, by the way."

"Okay," he said, turning back into the fuzzy room. Rosalina was laughing lightly.

"You didn't tell your brother?" she asked.

"I spent all of yesterday taking care of a little baby," I said.

"I am not a baby!" she exclaimed. "Geez, how many nicknames do you even have for me?"

"I don't even know," I said, making her laugh some more. "I know that you're Baby, Rosie, and Yankee Doodle. That's all I think there is."

"Look who decided to get up," Thomas said, walking out.

"Why aren't you sitting in your own chair?" Qaasim asked, grabbing a plate off of the counter.

"It's not like I'm heavy," Rosalina said, shrugging.

"You just expect us to take your word for it?" David asked.

"I mean, Nat was like my personal horse all yesterday so yea," Rosalina said. "We went to lunch, came back, my house, then came back. And he said I'm lighter then Alex."

"You probably are," Alex said.

"Don't worry, you won't make it through a summer with us and finish it with being lighter then Alex." David said.

"Alex, can you go get the mail?" I asked.

"Sure dude, but your report card hasn't come," Alex said, heading out. As soon as he was gone, the guys turned to us.

"Rosalina, what school are you going to?" David asked.

"Well, it's summer, so I refuse to talk about school," Rosalina said. "But because you're my friends, I'll tell you that I'm going to Amigos Middle School."

"Yes!" they cheered, even me.

"Rosalina's coming with us!" David cheered.

"Do you have your schedule yet?" Qaasim asked. "Cause we all got our things two days ago but Nat hasn't gotten his yet."

"It's just they go in alphabetical order and I'm 'W'." I whined.

"Well I don't really do mail but I did see an envelope addressed to me from the school," Rosalina said. "And maybe yours came since I saw mine yesterday and I'm 'T'."

"Hopefully," I said.


	17. He's Dying

Chapter 17: He's Dying

Rosalina's POV

After about three more days and a lot of convincing, I actually went home. It wasn't even ant who convinced me, it was Alex who convinced me to convince Nat to let me go home. Well, it was the morning that I was going home and Nat was making a big deal. "Why don't you just stay one more day?" Nat asked. "It would make me feel so much better if you stayed."

"Nat, you're being really clingy," Alex said. "We're all coming to make sure she gets home safe."

"Nat, I'll be safe. And you can call me if you want." I said. "My dad is there, and he'll keep me safe."

"Fine," Nat mumbled, walking off.

"Nat," I said, following him. "I know I'm a fun person but this is ridiculous."

"You are fun, but that's not why I'm worried," he said, stopping. "I'm just worried that those guys will come back."

"Nat, I'm a big girl," I said. "It's just I was distraught."

"I know, I know," he said. "I just hate knowing that your home alone."

"If it makes you feel better you can stay for a while," I said.

"It would make me feel a little better," he said.

"Now can you smile for me?" I asked.

"You can't do that!" he exclaimed, smiling with a big, goofy smile on his face. "That was me mocking you."

"Ah ha! I got you to smile," I said with an evil smile on my face.

"Fine, you won," he said.

"I always win," I said proudly.

"No you don't," he said matter of factly.

"When don't I win?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"When I force you to kiss me," he said, pulling me close to him.

"Well actually, you don't force me," I said.

"Watch me," he said, pressing his lips to mine. When he pulled back, he smiled at me.

"I don't consider it forcing when you're so gentle," I said quietly. He smiled at me again, taking my hand in his.

"So maybe you always win," he said as we walked back to the front door.

"I told you so," I said. He chuckled as we neared the guys.

.

Four weeks later, I was chilling in my room reading over the list of class choices. They said they would give me what they could, as long as I got my recommended classes in my Friday. It was becoming really stressful, so I decided to call Nat for some help. He always had the answers to my problems. After four rings, Alex picked up.

 _Hey Rosalina, what's up?_

"Nothing," I said. "Is your brother there?"

 _He's dying._

 _'I am not dying!'_ Nat called from the background.

 _He's sick._

"Oh," I said sadly.

There was some static on the other line, then Nat started talking. _Hey Rosie, what's up?_

"Well I was doing some school forms and I wanted your help but it's okay if your sick." I said. "I'll just call when your feeling better."

 _It's okay. You can come over if you want. I'll come get you._

"Nat, you're sick. I don't want you coming to get me if you don't feel good." I said.

 _But I want to. And I also don't want you to walk here alone._

"Nat, if you want me to go, il, meet you halfway. But I also have to get dressed, so I'll call you when I leave."

 _Good deal. See you later._

"Bye," I said, hanging up.

I lied. I was already ready. I grabbed my paperwork and stuffed it into my new backpack, then grabbed my phone and keys. I hopped down the stairs, leaving a note before actually leaving. When I reached his house, I knocked on the door. Alex opened it, letting me in. "He's in the process of throwing up," Alex said. "I don't know if you want to go in there or not, but the door's unlocked."

"Thanks Fuzzy," I said, ruffling his hair.

I dropped my bag in the kitchen, then went to the bathroom. Nat was sitting on the floor by the toilet, his knees pulled up to his chest and his head down. He was in pajama pants and a faded blue tee shirt. He looked up at me, smiling. "I thought you were gonna call before you came?" He asked in a quiet, raspy voice.

"Your sick and I didn't want you to leave your house." I said. "How are you feeling?"

"I could be better," he said. "I've emptied out the contents of my stomach, so at least I can't barf anymore."

"That gross," I said. "Did you get any medicine?"

"My babysitter went to go buy some," Nat said. I sat down next to him, feeling him rest his head on my shoulder.

"You actually have a babysitter?" I asked in shock.

He nodded. "She comes when we're at school cause during the summer we're all out so she only comes in case we get sick or its raining."

"Well I'll take care of you until she gets back. But first I have some paperwork."

"For school?"

"Yea."

"I still haven't got mine yet. My Dad's going down to the school later today to go check on that." he said. "You need any help cause I fill those out all the time."

"You really are the best," I said. "But I think you should eat something first."

"You mean eat food I can't taste?" he asked.

"Eat something without a taste, like toast or bread or crackers." I said, standing up. I took his hand, pulling him off the ground. "And also clean your mouth, you just barfed."

He laughed, staying behind in the bathroom as I went back to the kitchen.


	18. Filling Out Forms

Chapter 18: Filling Out Forms

Nat's POV

God everything felt awful. My head was throbbing, my nose was clogged, my throat scratchy, and I was so queasy. And if I wasn't feeling good in two days I'd have to go to the doctor. So I had to get better, fast. Everything seemed to lighten up when Rosalina came, though. When I got out of the bathroom, she was sitting at the counter, her hair balled up in her fists. "Forms aren't that complicated," I joked, standing next to her.

"Please help me Nat," she begged. "I wasn't always the smartest person."

"I mean, your transcripts say otherwise," I said, going through the stack of papers in front of her.

I picked up the one she was currently working on.

 _ **(please choose 3)**_

 _ **Elective 1 (Academic)**_

 _Photography/Videography_

 _Art History_

 _Art Appreciation_

 _Ceramics_

 _Drama_

 _Model UN_

 _Fashion Runway_

 _Journalism_

 _Entrepreneurship_

 _Student Leaders_

 _Music History_

 _Music: Strings_

 _Music: Percussions_

 _Music: Brass_

 _Music: Woodwinds_

 _Music: Lyrical and Notes_

 _Computers_

 _Graphic Design_

.

 ** _Elective 2 (Physical)_**

 _Basketball_

 _Football (Powder Puff)_

 _Soccer_

 _Flag Football_

 _Lacrosse_

 _Volleyball_

 _Baseball_

 _Softball_

 _Dance: Contemporary_

 _Dance: Hip Hop_

 _Dance: Ballet_

 _Cheerleading_

.

"What's so stressful?" I asked. "What do you like to do?"

"I don't know!" she exclaimed. "In my old school they picked for us."

"Why don't you just pick the same ones Nat picked?" Alex asked.

"Because she probably has different intrests," I said.

"What'd you pick?" she asked.

"Music: strings, music: lyrical and notes, and student leaders." I said. "And for Pe I picked soccer, basketball, and volleyball."

"Why volleyball?"

"Cause last year I did basketball so all the girls think I'm gonna do it this year and I just want to get away from those hoes." I said. "I like being unpredictable. Plus they give you your first choice and mine is soccer."

"But you play football everyday."

"We don't like playing football," Alex said. "We only played it cause the basketball court was closed and that was the only other sporting ball we had in the house."

"We were supposed to go play basketball today but I'm been laying in bed sick all morning," I said.

"So why so much music? I thought you didn't like doing that stuff?"

"Last year I did photo shop or whatever it's called so I'm changing up my demeanor."

"Well, now that I'm thinking about it, I'll choose fashion runway, journalism, and music: strings." She said. "I hope they have advanced classes cause I can play cello, piano, violin, bass, guitar, and piano. Drums and flute are on that list but they aren't strings so."

"What about Pe?" Alex asked.

"Well, I do love volleyball and school soccer star must choose soccer." she said proudly. "And I love being loud so I'll do cheer too."

"So what's the order?" I asked.

"Soccer, volleyball, cheer," she said.

"See, was that so hard?" I asked.

"Only because Alex helped me," she said, making Alex smile. "He's so much cooler too."

"I think your sick too," I said, feeling her forehead. She laughed, pushing it away.

"Now, help me with my forms." She said. They were mostly filled out.

 **Last Name:** _Tai_ **First Name:** _Rosalina_ **Middle Initial:** _J ._

 **D.O.B:** _06/12/2003_

 **(classified information)**

 **Grade Entering** _: 7_

 **Elective 1 Choices:** _fashion runway; journalism; music:strings_

 **Elective 2 Choices:** _soccer; volleyball, cheerleading_

 **Previous Math** : _Pre-Algebra_

 **Previous History:** _World History_

 **Previous Science:** _Earth Science_

 **Recommend Foreign Language:** _French ._

"You finished?" I asked about an hour later.

"Yea," she said. "I just gotta get these down to the office today."

"Ask Jesse to take them for you," Alex said, walking in. "She's about to go buy more milk, right Jesse?"

"Right Alex," she said. "Anything for you. I'll take those papers for you, Rosalina."

"Thank you, Jesse," Rosalina said, handing her the forms.

"Nat, go back to bed," Jesse said. "Rosalina, could you watch them for me please?"

"Sure," Rosalina said.

"Bye Jesse," Alex said, pushing her out of the door.

"Alex, can you come stay in your room with me and Nat?" Rosalina asked sweetly.

"But it's boring in there," Alex whined.

"I'll let you play games or watch tv on my laptop, okay?"

"I'll consider." Alex said, following us back to my room.

"Alright Nat, get in bed," Rosalina said.

"I'm not tired," I said.

"But you're sick," she argued.

"No I'm not," I said.

"Yea you are," she said.

"No I'm—*sneeze*," I said, then wiped my nose. "Yes I am."

I climbed to my bunk, sitting on the top.

"Now you're the baby today, got it?"

"Fine," I said, groaning.


	19. Trouble

Chapter 19: Trouble

Rosalina's POV

A week later, Nat called and said he was going on his vacation. But he told me that his friends would be playing basketball. They're fun and all, but I like hanging out with Nat. But I am going to hang out do them. There were only three more weeks until we had to go back to school, but it was still summer. Gina and Stacy were coming in two days, so I went to the basketball court to hang with the guys. "I thought you only hung out with Nat?" David asked.

"I came to make the teams even," I said, shrugging.

"You really think you could play with us?" Thomas asked.

"I can take you to school chum," I threatened. "Let's go, I want Qaasim."

"Who says your captain?" David asked.

"I do," I said. "Got something you want to say?"

"No," he said quietly.

"Yea, that's what I thought," I said.

.

Without Nat in town, I was pretty bored. I called Kristina just for fun, but she didn't answer. And I was so used to eating Nat's food that while he was gone I was really hungry. Like, he was sick for a while so he wasn't allowed to cook, then he was better for a few days, then left. Surprisingly, in seven weeks, I was now 86.2 lbs. That's a lot for about two months. Now, this is a crazy weird series of events, so bare with me.

Nat and Alex came back on Saturday, and it was Friday. I was on my way to the basketball court to school the guys again when I started feeling dizzy. I didn't mind it, then answered my ringing phone.

Nobody's POV

"Hey Natty," she said happily. "What's up?"

 _Hey Rosie. I'm just checking on you. What're you doing?_

"I'm heading to the basketball court to school the guys again."

 _Three weeks before school starts, priceless._

"Yea," she said.

 _Are you okay? You sound a little exhausted._

"Walking makes me a little out of breath, you know what I mean?"

 _Rosalina, it's not good that you get out of breath when you walk. You should go home._

"Nat, I've told you a million times I'm a big girl. Nothing bad is gonna happen."

 _Please Rosalina, you don't sound good. Maybe you should go grab something to eat. Have you eaten today?_

"Nat, I'm perfectly fine." she said. "And I ate a piece of toast this morning."

 _Rosie, please go home and eat something heavier._

"Nat I'm—"

On Nat's end, there was static, then slow breathing.

 _Rosalina? Rosalina?_

*beep* *beep* *beep*


	20. Talking to Myself

Chapter 20: Talking to Myself

Nat's POV

I remember our phone conversation perfectly. It was the scariest thing ever, at least that I can remember. So I did the only thing I could do: I called 911.

 _9-1-1 what's your emergency?_

"I-i was talk on the phone with my friend," I said. "And the line just stopped. There was a loud crash and slowly breathing before her phone cut off and I'm worried sick."

 _Do you know where your friend is?_

"She's in New York City, Manhattan on her way to the Dammerman Community Basketball Court."

 _We'll check it out, okay?_

"Okay, thank you." I said.

.

Alex kept trying to relax me all through the flight, but I couldn't help but be nervous. I called Cooper before we left and he said that they took Rosalina to the hospital but they aren't releasing any information. That made me even more worried, and every second felt longer. As soon as we landed and got out of the airport, I got on my knees and begged my dad to take us to see Rosalina. Well, he took us. And it took a lot of convincing to get the nurse to tell me her room, but I eventually got there.

But when I got to her room, the last person I wanted to see was standing in the hall. No, it wasn't Meghan. It was a girl in my class who is a jerk, okay? She's like the toughest person in our whole grade. "Kristina? What are you doing here?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," she said, crossing her arms. "Start talk, Wolff. Why are you here?"

"I came to see Rosalina," I said.

"How do you know Rosalina?" she asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." I said.

"Rosalina is my friend," she said.

"Rosalina is my girlfriend." I said.

"Well we're both out of luck cause no one's allowed inside."

I groaned, walking over to the door. "Do you know what happened?" I asked her.

"Well she's be unconscious since they brought her in yesterday. All they know is that she randomly passed out. They're tracking down the phone number who called for her but they really have nothing to work off of."

I sighed, resting my head on the door. "I called," I mumbled. "Do you plan to tell me why your here?"

"Well they called the last five people Rosalina talked to on her phone as emergency contacts and I was on that list." Kristina said. "Plus I was already back from my vacation."

I twisted the doorknob, pushing softly on the door. I peaked my head inside. "No ones' in there, let's go," I said to Kristina.

"They just kicked me out when they found me in there," Kristina said. "But Wolff is breaking the rules so I've gotta see that."

I stepped in, walking across the plain room to the center. In the center was a bed with Rosalina laying on it. I slowly walked to the side of her bed, picking pieces of gravel out of her hair. I chuckled softly. "I remember when we met at the beginning of summer." I said quietly. "I will not lie to you I did think you were a dude. But I'm really ignorant. But I am pretty happy that I knocked you out. We wouldn't even be friends. But I promise I won't do it again.

"I know I promised you if write you more songs too, and I will. I swear on my grave that I will write more songs, just because I promised you."

"Nat, you're talking to yourself," Kristina said from behind me.

"I know," I said, nodding sadly.


	21. Sheet Music

Chapter 21: Sheet Music

Alex's POV

When we got home, Nat pulled me into our room. "Alex, before Rosalina was in the hospital, I promised her that I would write more songs. And I need to do it."

"What does that have to do with me?" I asked.

"I wanted you to help me," he said. "Please Alex."

"Alright," I said, following him to the piano. We both sat down. "Any inspiration?"

He nodded, expertly playing another song without words. I stood up and he did too, still playing. I pulled up the bench, pulling out the mess of sheet music we had written over the years. In total there were 51, with _Rosalina_ as the only one with words. And, with my help, we wrote lyrics for 17 songs. We didn't sleep at all, and finished at around 2 o'clock. That's when the guys came, and we looked awful. We had empty cups of coffee (we actually drunk coffee) and buckets full of icy water surrounding us.

"You guys look awful," Cooper said. Cooper came, which was weird.

"Thanks," I said sarcastically, getting up.

"We stayed up all night," Nat said, then yawned.

"Why?" Thomas asked.

"Nat promised Rosalina a while ago that he was gonna write songs because she loves his songs, and since to is currently unavailable Nat had decided to fulfill her request," I said.

"I'm gonna go visit her again," Nat said, standing up.

"Are you sure?" Qaasim asked. "Cause what if she wakes up and sees you looking like that?"

"I don't think she'll care that much," Nat said. "You guys wanna come?"

"I'm coming," I said.

"It's not like we have anything to do," David said. "You know she's really good at basketball."

"She creamed David and Thomas," Qaasim said as Nat grabbed his keys.

"She's good at everything," I said. "She's like a girl version of Nat."

"Except we don't know if she can cook." Thomas said.

.

They were only letting us see her one at a time. She was officially in a coma, and Nat spent forever in her room. It was insane. When he came back I had woken up from my nap and was well rested. His eyes were extremely red and he sat down, his face expressionless. "You okay?" Cooper asked. Nat shook his head, putting his head in his hands. His whole body was shaking. He was crying. Nat never cries in public. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen him cry. Apart from the time my mom passed.

I sat down next to him, rubbing his back. "It's okay Nat," I whispered. "Rosalina will be okay."

"No she won't," he sobbed out.

"Alex, you should go see Rosalina next," Cooper said. "I'll take care of Nat."

I nodded, standing up. I walked down to her room, stepping inside the dark room. I looked at her, seeing her arms folded over her chest. Laying against her chest was a blue folder. Nat's name was scribbled across the front in his sloppy cursive, and the words _Sheet Music_ were in his nest manuscript. I sat in the chair next to her bed, looking out the window.

"I'm not used to talking to people who are sleeping," I said. "So I guess I just tell you what's going on. Well your boyfriend is going mad that your not okay, so I need you to wake up. I can't go school shopping with a Nat who won't even sleep at night. Well, that was one day, only because he was determined to write you songs."

I sighed, looking at her. "I feel really stupid talking without getting a response. Please wake up Rosalina. I liked it when you babied me stuff. And when you babied Nat it was so funny. You probably can't hear me, so I'm gonna go. Maybe one of the guys will come in next. See you later."

I got up, walking to the door. I looked back at her, then went back to the waiting room we were in.


	22. I'll Do Anything

Chapter 22: I'll Do Anything

Nat's POV

A few minutes after Alex left and Cooper had managed to calm me down, Rosalina's dad came into the room. And he wanted to talk to me. I pulled my sleeves down, using it to wipe my eyes before going over to him. I honestly have no idea what we were talking about. Something to do with taking care of Rosalina cause he has a business trip he cannot get out of going to.

Alex claims I didn't sleep [Alex: He didn't!] for the next week. I saw Kristina a lot, and I didn't hate her after I got to know her.

It was a week and a half before we had to go back to school, and I was sitting with Rosalina and my guitar. She was still comatose, and it was still one person at a time. I was softly playing a song I had written for her, maybe the only one on guitar.

 _I don't want you, I need you_

 _I don't care for you, I love you_

 _I'll be there for you because of you_

 _I'll do anything for you, you, you_

 _I'll do anything for you_

 _I'll do anything for you, you, you_

 _I'll do anything for you_

 _I won't sing for you, I'll belt for you_

 _I won't cry for you, I'll bawl for you_

 _I won't die for you, I'll live for you_

 _I'll do anything for you, you, you_

 _I'll do anything for you_

 _I'll do anything for you, you, you_

 _I'll do anything for you_

 _If you want me to stay, then I'll stay_

 _Oh, oh, oh_

 _If you want me to go, I'll go_

 _Ooh, Ooh, Ooh,_

 _Ooh, Ooh, Ooh_

 _I don't care for you, I love you_

 _I don't want you, I need you_

 _I won't kill for you, I'll live for you_

 _I'll do anything for you, you, you_

 _I'll do anything for you_

 _I'll do anything for you, you, you_

 _I'll do anything for you_

I sighed, looking at Rosalina. I stood up, standing over her. "I hope you wake up soon, I miss you." I bent down and kissed her forehead. "I love you so much Rosalina."

"You too," I heard a raspy but soft, innocent voice say. I looked around the room and saw it was empty.

"Rosie?" I asked quietly.

"Yea?" Only her mouth moved, but it was something. I gently took her hand, seeing her lips curve into a smile. "Nat, my head hurts. And I tried to open my eyes but the light was too bright."

"It's okay, Rosalina," I said. "Just hearing your voice is great."

"I liked that song," she said. "It was so beautiful."

"Thank you," I said, seeing her eyes squinting at me. "Do you want me to go get your doctor?"

"Doctor?" she asked, confused. "Why would I need a doctor?"

I gave her hand a little squeeze. "Rosie, you've been in the hospital for almost two weeks now. You randomly passed out on the sidewalk and they brought you here. You've been in a coma since."

She stared at my face for a few minutes. "Can you help me sit up?" she finally asked. I nodded, picking up the remote on the side of her bed. After fixing the bed's position, I helped her get comfortable.

"Is it okay if I call the doctor now?" She nodded slowly, looking a little nervous.

"Could you stay with me?" she asked quietly. I nodded, giving her hand another squeeze.

* * *

 **A/N: There are only three chapters left after this one! I have this ting against stories reaching 30 chapters, so I'm stopping it at 25. There is so much more I wanted to put in this story, so I'm making a sequel. Don't worry, it won't turn into a series. At most, it'll be a trilogy. No more then that.**

 **Xoxoxoxoxoxo**


	23. Wakings

Chapter 23: Wakings

Rosalina's POV

After the very thorough examination, the main doctor walked over to me and Nat. "Ms. Rosalina, you appear to be well underweight." she said. I rolled my eyes.

"Tell me something I don't know," I said.

"Did you know that it's bad for your health and the prime reason that you're here?" she asked.

"I told you so," Nat said. "You should've listened to me."

"Ms. Rosalina, it seems very unlikely but you are at a risk of death," she said. "Now, you are allowed to go home. But I recommend you a few things to get your body weight up. I don't recommend junk foods..."

She said a lot of boring things that Nat will probably remember for me, then left. Nat stood up, giving me a knowing look. I sighed rolling my eyes. "The guys are here to see you." he said. "They've been here only slightly more then me, just because they were out of town. And Kristina Reyes was here." He said her name like she was evil or something.

"You know Kris?" I asked.

"We aren't friends, don't worry," he said. "She's a little bitch to me."

"She's one of my best friends," I said. "When you go, can you please hurry back and send her in it she's here?"

"Sure thing," he said, kissing my forehead. "Love you."

"Love you too," I said as he headed to the door.

Woah, how many times is that that we used the 'L' word? Either way, it felt awesome. The door opened and in came an excited Kristina. She wrapped me in a tight hug, then looked at me. "Oh my God! Rosa, you scared the shit out of me!" she hit my arm playfully, sitting down on the edge of my bed. "Don't you ever do that again."

"Well stop being a bitch to my boyfriend," I said, folding my arms.

"That's what he gets," Kristina said.

"What did you do to him?"

"I broke into his gym locker and stole his regular clothes," Kristina said.

"And why would you do that?" I asked.

"He smashed my science project," she said. "He needed to pay."

"I don't think he did it on purpose," I said.

"Whatever," she said. "I got detention, he got mad, and everything worked out."

"What exactly happened?" I asked.

"Well, he chased me across the field and commons and halls in nothing but a towel and underwear for like ten minutes until I got caught," she said. "Some of my best work."

"You are insane," I said, laughing lightly.

I heard the door open, and saw Alex walk in. He was followed by Nat and the guys, and all of them smiled at me. Alex came over to me and stood still. "I remember talking to you while you were sleeping." he said.

"I'm sorry little dude, but I don't remember what you said," I said.

"It's okay," he said. "I was just telling you that you needed to wake up because Nat wasn't sleeping at night and getting cleaned and cooking and I was getting hungry. Luckily Thomas and David bought me food."

I turned my attention to Nat, who was trying to hide behind Cooper. He smiled sheepishly, not meeting my eyes. "I'll just add that to the list of things I need to talk to you about." I said.

The guys started laughed and Nat stood straight, looking at me. "You have a list?" he asked in shock.

I nodded, pulling the blankets down. "Alright, let's get out of here." I said, swinging my legs over the side.


	24. Nobody Deserves It

Chapter 24: Nobody Deserves It

Nat's POV

Really Kristina only had beef with me. So when we got back to my apartment, they all went to play in the fussy room while Rosalina dragged me into my room. Her arms were folded over he chest, a serious expression on her face. "First, I'm very happy that you wrote more songs," she said, gesturing to the blue folder she put on my bed. "But I've heard that you haven't slept in two weeks?"

"I slept sometimes," I said. "I took short naps in the waiting room."

"You didn't make him food," she stated.

"Rosalina, I would think that you'd be a little happier at me caring about you so much," I said.

"I am happy, I'm just upset that you didn't take care of your brother or yourself," she said. "And that you have beef with one of my besties."

"Kristina hated me first," I said in defense.

"I honestly don't care," she said.

"You're being pretty rude for someone who just got out of a coma," I said. She was not amused. "Okay Rosalina, I'm sorry."

"I don't want you to promise me you'll take more care of your brother. I want you to promise yourself." she said.

"Okay," I said. "Now are we done with your list?" She nodded, letting her arms drop to the sides. I opened my arms up wide and wrapped them around her, pulling her close to me. I felt her hugging me back, her head resting on my chest. "Are you hungry? And don't lie." I said. She sighed, lifting her head to look at me.

"I am very hungry," she said. "But I'd rather hug you for right now."

I gently caressed her cheek, softly pressing my lips to hers. I felt her wrap her arms around my neck, her lips pressing back against mine. She pulled back and smiled at me, and I smiled back. "Come on," I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and walking towards the door. I heard her giggle as we left the room.

.

Rosalina sat down on the first stool, eating her serving first. I don't know why but she started laughing, then slowly calmed down. I looked at her, confused. "What's so funny?" I asked her.

"You are," she said. "You're such a dork, it's adorable."

"How am I being a dork?" I asked.

"Your pants fell," she said, laughing. "Like, three minutes ago."

I could feel my checks go extremely red as I quickly pulling my pants up. "You should've told me that forever ago!" I exclaimed.

"I thought you'd notice the draft," she defended. "Plus, it was funny seeing your race cars boxers."

"It is not funny!" I argued.

"You're twelve and you have race cars on your boxers!" she exclaimed, bursting into a fit of laughter.

"You are a jerk," I said, fixing my pants.

"At least I can keep my pants up," she said.

"Just eat your food," I said. "Cause I will make you."

She rolled her eyes, going back to her lunch. "I'll be back," I said, heading to the fuzzy room. She gave me a thumbs up as I entered the room. Kristina had tied up all of the guys except for Alex, who she was having a lightsavor battle with. David looked at me with fear in his eyes. I chuckled, picking up a light savor on the floor. I snuck up behind Kristina, striking her in the back. She let out a shriek before falling to the ground. "Don't mess with the Wolffs," Alex said.

"Fine, you win," Kristina said, hanging him a paper key. "Go get your friends." As Alex ran off, I sat on the grounds next to Kristina.

"So, what'd Rosalina want with you?" Kristina asked, sitting up.

"She yelled at me cause I didn't take care of Alex and myself," I said.

"Classic Rosa," she said, laughing lightly.

"Why do you call her that?" I asked. "Her name is Rosalina."

"I call her whatever comes out of my mouth," she said. "And also, you are a really good friend to her."

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking confused.

"We'll all summer, Gina and Stacy come back from their trips here talking about how much you and Rosalina connect and how you're so perfect for her and how she would be super bored all summer if it weren't for you. Plus, she might've been in the hospital a long time ago if it wasn't for you."

"I love taking care of her," I said. "She's so much fun, I'd hate to see that happiness and fun disappear. It nearly did once, and I can't let that happen again."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"When she was born, she was really premature that they weren't even going to waste time and energy on trying to keep her alive. She was smaller then my palm, and she barely survived." I explained.

"How do you know all of that?"

"My dad was one of the doctors that helped delivery her," I said.

"Nat, you're crying," Kristina said.

"I just don't like thinking about losing Rosalina," I said, wiping my eyes. "Even if I didn't know her. Nobody deserves to—"

I couldn't even finish. I buried my head in my hands, feeling my whole body shaking as I was crying.


	25. I'm With You

Chapter 25: I'm With You

Rosalina's POV

I heard everything Nat had said. Kristina saw me, and continued probing. And she made him cry. I quietly walked in, sitting next to them on the ground. I felt Nat lean his head onto my shoulder, hid dosing calming down. "It's okay, Nat," I whispered softly. "I know I'm okay, especially now that I'm with you." He nodded, wiping his eyes again.

"Do you want me to play you one of the songs?" he asked, looking up at me. I nodded.

"But only if you want to," I added.

"Of course I do," he said. "I'll do anything for you." I laughed lightly as he got up. Kristina pulled me off of the ground, and we started for the exit. Alex ran in front of us, a devious smile on his face.

"Rosalina, Kristina, we were talking and we wanted to play with Nat," Alex said. "Me, David, Thomas, and Qaasim. But we were missing an instrument that we hope one of you two can play."

"What instrument?" I asked.

"I don't play anything," Kristina said.

"It's a bass guitar," Alex said, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"You're very lucky I know how to play," I said. He told me a few key notes and keys, then told me I could make up little indentations along the way.

"But it's still a surprise to Nat," Alex said. "Don't forget. The bass is gonna be behind the piano so you can sit with Nat for a while."

"You're a cool brother," I said, ruffling his head. "This is gonna be cool, Alex."

"Kris, would you video tape please?" Alex asked.

"Sure thing," she said.

.

Nat had his blue folder on the piano, playing random cords while we waiting for the guys to settle down. He explained that the song was from when he got in trouble at school, but he still had it in his folder. Alex was sitting at his drum set, claiming there were no more seats. Qaasim and Kristina were sitting on my side of the piano, which was where the guitar and bass guitar were sitting. David was on Alex's left, where the keyboard was, and Thomas was on the other side, where the cello was.

Qaasim had the guitar in his lap since him and Nat worked on the song together. He and Alex started with a nice little tune. And then, all of the guys were singing the first part, which I guess was kinda repeating. They didn't even wait for Nat to start, they all started with their own instruments. So I got up, grabbing the bass and joined them. It wasn't that hard to follow.

 _Don't wanna go to_

 _School [X7]_

 _I don't want to go to school_

 _Yes it's true._

 _I don't want to see a teacher's_

 _Face again._

 _I don't want to go to school_

 _Every morning._

 _I don't want to go to school._

 _._

 _School [X4]_

 _I don't want to go to school. [X3]_

 _Don't want to go to school_

 _And thats for sure._

 _Don't take me in the morning or_

 _I'll cry some more._

 _And I'm really tired of being treated_

 _Like a fool._

 _I don't want to go to school._

 _._

 _You can't deny me of my [X3]_

 _Of my freedom._

 _._

 _You can't deny me of my [X3]_

 _Of my summer._

 _._

 _I don't want to go to school._

 _._

 _And you give us so much work_

 _I go crazy._

 _Try to rest my head and you call me lazy._

 _I look aroud and all I see_

 _Is depression._

 _._

 _And i'll tell you teachers_

 _I've got a confetion._

 _All those kids wan't to do_

 _Is have some fun._

 _But the work_

 _The work_

 _The work is never done._

 _You always tell me to stop_

 _To stop comin' around_

 _I can't even make_

 _Make make make no sound_

 _I can't make no sound_

 _._

 _I don't want to go to school_

 _School [X4]_

 _I don't want to go to school_

 _School [X3]_

 _I don't want to go to school_

 _School [X4]_

 _._

 _I don't want_

 _I don't want_

 _I don't want to go to school_

 _._

 _I don't want_

 _I don't want_

 _I don't want to go to school_

 _._

 _I don't want_

 _I don't want_

 _I don't want to go to school_

 _._

 _I don't want to go to school_

 _._

 _No I don't_

We were really good! Like, we had practiced everyday of the summer. When Kristina had stopped it, her expression was so surprised. "So how long have you been a band?" She asked, folding her arms. We looked at each other, then started laughing.

"This is just a song we do when we get bad grades or detention." Alex said. "And Rosalina only knew little chords and notes. She made most of it up."

"Well damn," Kristina said. Her idea face popped up, then she ran to grab her stuff. "Rosa, text me later." Before I even got to answer, she was out of the door. The guys all looked at me, very confused.

"Girl stuff," I simply said, even though I had no idea what she was planning.

.

Later that day, after all the guys had left and Alex had gone to bed, Nat and I were standing at the kitchen sink, washing the dishes. "You did really good today, Rosie," he said. "Considering you just woke up from a coma."

"I'm surprised the let me go so early," I said.

"Me too," he said.

"You know, Nat, I think my favorite nickname that you've given me this summer is Rosie."

"It's my favorite too," he said, smiling at me.

After a few minutes of silence, he called my attention once again. "You know, the Friday before we go back to school there's always a back to school dance. You wanna go?"

"Sure," I said, shrugging. "Maybe I'll make some more friends."

"I think you'd got enough," he said. "You've got Kristina, David, Qaasim, Thomas, Cooper, Alex, and me."

"I like small groups of friends," I said.

"So then you don't need more friends," he said. "Also, it's a costume party."

"Ah, so what're you going as?"

"Me and the guys are going as superheroes," he said. "Would you like to join us?"

"But I wanna be a princess," I fake whined. "Everyone knows that every princess has a prince. And her knights."

"Rapunzel didn't have a prince," he argued. "And Merida in Brave didn't either."

"Don't worry, I'll be a superhero," I said. "Just as long as I have more powers then you."

"Well we're making up superheroes so be free to do as you please," he said. "But I'm Alex's sidekick."

"How'd that happen?" I asked.

"I stopped caring," he simply said.

He grabbed a rag, drying his hands before handing it to me. "You want some sweats to go to sleep in or your good in those?"

"I like that red sweatshirt I had the other day," I said. She smiled, going into his before coming out quickly.

"Here you are, lovely," he said, passing it to me. He sat on the couch with me, the both of us looking at the just above silent television.

"So about what you were saying to Kristina," I said. "I don't want you to worry about me anymore. I'm going to be alright. Especially now that I'm with you."

He smiled even bigger, gently pressing his lips to mine. He pulled back, and I had a visit smile on his face. "I could get used to this life," I whispered, resting my head on his shoulder.

* * *

 **A/N: That's the end of it! Love you all! And some special shout outs too! Thanks to Mindy, Yolanda49, Chris, Dave, Lovingmuch21, Veronica, Anna, Nick, Raven, Valerie, Kate, Morgan, Dana, Victoria, Joan, Wendy, Jennifer, Wuinn, Emily, Jenna, Sara, Javier, Anan'Ti, Aliyah, Erica, Tyla, Jazmin, Tracy, Gina, Grace, Hanna, Brianna, Tracey, Eunice, Clara, Andrea, Yolanda, Kim, Danny, Heather, Taylor, Trina, Beth, Lynn, Christina. Love you all! Thanks!**

 **The first chapter of the next story is up in an hour!**

 **Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo**


End file.
